Thread: Screen door lock (house) - urgent help needed

Does your car have a winch?

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

A scew driver behind the door jamb?

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...)

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