Some advice from a locksmith please

[bongorider]

In my house I have internal doors that lock by pushing a button from the inside, now since I moved in I have no keys for any of these. One door was locked and then closed from the outside, so I had to get a locksmith. A guy came and he put a tension wrench in and used some kind of gun device and had it open within a minute. But he explained now the lock wont work. Any time the door is closed it locks whether you push the button or not. If I wanted new locks he'd come out again and replace it. I couldn't really complain, he came within 20 minutes of calling and was cheap.

Now I don't really NEED to lock this door, but I'm paranoid about absent mindedly closing it from the outside and being locked out again. Is there any way I can sort this out myself or just prevent it from locking all the time?

[MBI]

Well, if you don't have the knowledge to repair it, the easy solution would be to buy a new knob and replace the old one. If it's a door you don't need to be able to lock, it should be rather inexpensive to buy a passage knob (non locking) to put there. In the absence of a picture of what you're talking about, there's not much else I can suggest.

[chris]

Are you talking about the locks that have a little round button on one side and a hole on the other side"??? Cause if you are...then all you need to do is push a button inside the "hole" and the button will pop out. Most doors like that are bathroom doors and master bedroom doors...If you can, upload a picture of the lock in question and we can help you further.

[sandman]

without having to tell you or ask you what is wrong with the door and why it needs to be replaced, ill tell you to just replace it, yourself.

go to home depot, and ask for a PRIVACY KNOB SET, it is a

An interior lockset.
Designed for privacy rather than for security
Has a locking button on the inside knob but no key device on the outside knob.
Can be either a knob or a lever.
In an emergency, the lock can be opened from the outside by inserting a narrow object through the small hole in the outside knob and either depressing or turning the locking mechanism inside, depending on the type of lock. "

for more info on it, go to http://www.doityourself.com/stry/typesofdoorlocks

when you buy the new locks, all you have to do is remove the old one with a PHILIPS HEAD SCREW DRIVER, and the same for installing the new one, a new lock set will run about 15 to $20 new. much cheaper than a locksmith. just read the directions that comes with it, and youll be set.

i have no idea why your lock would not work, theres just a latch, and/or a dead latch, depending on the lock, and maybe the spring is broken. if he was a really locksmith, he would have just replaced the spring to the latch or fixed it in anyway possible for ya, with the inclusion of picking it open. i would have atleast.

if you have any more questions, there are plenty more qualified locksmiths on here than me, KOKOMOLOCK being one, FARMERFREAK, and several others, you can always ask them but i think this will be the best route for ya. good luck

[sandman]

Are you talking about the locks that have a little round button on one side and a hole on the other side"??? Cause if you are...then all you need to do is push a button inside the "hole" and the button will pop out.

chris, no, because remember, the locksmith used a tension wrench and a pick gun to open it.

[chris]

Yeah I saw that Sandman, forgot about storeroom locks, entry access.

[bongorider]

^^outside.


^^inside.

Basically the door locks every time you close it now, you just can't turn the knob from the outside. You can still push the button in, but it doesn't fully come out when you release by turning the inside knob.

I could replace the knob I suppose, but I'm wondering if there is a quick fix.

[sandman]

what you have is an
Entry Lockset
Two doorknobs that can be locked from both the inside and the outside.
One type locks from the inside by turning or depressing a small button, while a key must unlock the outside knob.
Some models must be locked with a key on both the inside and outside.
In other models, only the inside knob can lock or unlock both sides of the set.
A medium security entrance-door lock.
A quality feature on entry locksets is a deadlatch.

the deadlatch is what is not responding and giving you the problem. its the smaller latch of the two,
i cant trouble shoot why that is without being there, just take it off, and replace it with a PRIVACY KNOB

WAIT! I KNOW WHATS WRONG, the dead latch is not functioning properly because of how it sits in the LATCH STRIKE that is position on the door frame.
you see, the door is suposed to close in a manor that the DEAD LATCH is depressed. when it is depressed, The SPRING LATCH (bigger latch of the 2) is locked into position.
the DEAD LATCH was instituted into these locks to keep people from just using a credit card to swipe the SPRING LATCH.
so my guess is, the DEAD LATCH spring has been broken, THUS, KEEPING THE SPRING LATCH NON RESPONSIVE AND TENSE, AND KEEPING THE HARDWARE LOCKED!!!!

not bad for somebody who was just an apprentice locksmith for 4 months!!!

diagnosis, replace the spring on the dead latch. or... replace the lock.

cheapest route... replace the lock.

thank you and good night!!!

[bongorider]

thanks sandman. In the mean-time. Tape over the latch just in case.

[sandman]

yep, over both of them. should do the trick.

[KokomoLock]

What they look like to me is LSDA knobs. They have 2 functions, entry and storeroom. What you need to do is go to the inside, push that little button in just a hair and turn it CCW. Once you do that turn the inside knob and the button will pop out, and now you have a lock that does NOT lock every time you shut the door. To put it back to stroeroom function just push the button in and turn it CW till it stops.

[mdc5150]

What they look like to me is LSDA knobs. They have 2 functions, entry and storeroom. What you need to do is go to the inside, push that little button in just a hair and turn it CCW. Once you do that turn the inside knob and the button will pop out, and now you have a lock that does NOT lock every time you shut the door. To put it back to stroeroom function just push the button in and turn it CW till it stops.

Do all the LSDA knob sets do that? Just wondering as I've installed a few lately and the boss is talking about not selling those anymore. That might change his mind though.

[KokomoLock]

What they look like to me is LSDA knobs. They have 2 functions, entry and storeroom. What you need to do is go to the inside, push that little button in just a hair and turn it CCW. Once you do that turn the inside knob and the button will pop out, and now you have a lock that does NOT lock every time you shut the door. To put it back to stroeroom function just push the button in and turn it CW till it stops.

Do all the LSDA knob sets do that? Just wondering as I've installed a few lately and the boss is talking about not selling those anymore. That might change his mind though.

Not 100% sure!! I know the grade 2 knobs and levers do, not sure about grade 1, and I think grade 3 residential do also.

[mdc5150]

Thanks much for the info Kokomo. That makes those knobsets a little more valuable to keep around.

[KokomoLock]

This is from the LSDA dealer catalog "Pushing and turning button locks outside lever requiring use of key until button is manually unlocked. Pushing button locks
outside knob until unlocked with
key or inside knob is turned."

Here is a link to their catalog http://lockhartssecurity.com/pdf/LSDA_Catalog.pdf.