Screen door lock (house) - urgent help needed

[crackers]

I needed to fit a new door handle and lock to the screen door at the front of the house.
Buy new lock.
Remove old lock.
Install new lock.

Hang on, the lever isn't working ie, it doesn't operate the tongue :confused:
Even pressing in the secondary tongue only sort of works.

Remove the face plates and handles. Reach for a screw driver and SLAM, the door swings shut. :eek:

So now I've got a front screen door that's shut, held in place by the tongue... and I've got no way of opening it. Reinstalling the handles doesn't work and remember, they weren't working in the first place.

Any ideas?

And, of course, it's sunday on a long weekend :mad:

[V8Ian]

Does your car have a winch?

[crackers]

No. Nor do I have an oxy setup.

Just playing with it, it's acting like it's dead locked but for some reason, the keys won't unlock it - they did in earlier experiments so I've got the right keys.

It's a Whitco Tasman lock

[jonesfam]

A scew driver behind the door jamb?

[crackers]

Sorted it.
Jammed a screwdriver between the door and the striker plate to force them apart. Used a thin, flexible putty knife to push the small, secondary tongue in. Lock worked.

At the time the door slammed shut, I hadn't changed striker plates. The original striker plate had a very long hole and this was long enough to allow the small tongue to slide into it, thus preventing the lock from working.

I've now changed the striker plate... but am still having trouble because it sits too high for the the large tongue to slide into it. At least that's easy to fix.

Man this has been a job. At the start, I couldn't get the old lock out because the lock barrel was jammed in the works - I had to get my Dremel out and cut that off.

Locksmiths do not get paid enough.

(you can lock this thread now... unless you want to leave it open so people can laugh at me, or share their own disasters, or laugh at me, or...)

[Hall]

Great to see that you have some closure now.
Cheers Hall

[crackers]

The fun and games continued when I started fitting a new door closer. What with having to walk around to the back door to get inside (or outside) time and time again during the lock saga, and with trips out to the shed to get something, I've probably walked enough today to wear me down about half an inch. :cool:

Oh, and I've got a sliver of something in my foot - serves me right for working bare foot :(