Problem with door

You'll have to excuse my lack of proper terminology here, as I'm not a native English speaker, but any help whatsoever on this would be greatly appreciated.

We have a problem with the front door of our building. Our building has three floors, each floor is an apartment, and the front door of the building (that leads to the road) opens with a magnetic (I think) way, buzzing.

The door has a mechanism so it closes by itself.

I know the above reads extremely silly, but I don't know any of the terminology, sorry.

The problem is that the door doesn't always close by itself. Many times the part that should go into the door (we call it the "tongue" here) so it can close just touches the metal that's inside the case and stays there.

I have traced the problem to the metal part that the tongue touches when it closes, after a few times that the door closes aytomatically, it moves slightly inside and the door cannot close.

It goes something like this, the way it should be:

| | | |

The way it is:

\ \ \ \

The angle is greatly exaggerated here, but you get the idea I hope. You have to pull it slightly with your finger so it works again.

I've had three locksmiths and two carpenters look at it and they can't fix it, it stays fixed for a few days and then the same.

I know this post is very weird, but this is my last resort.

Reply to
dsprt
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Why three different locksmiths? Sometimes the problem is not apperant and the first attempr is not sucessful. There is a reason that your system is not functioning as designed and once the reason is discovered, then a solution will be at hand.

There are many things that could be causing your problem and perhaps a second look is warranted.

Reply to
Roger Shoaf

ok, where is the magnet? on the door LATCH? or mounted on the top edge of the door? am assuming the latch. you have a mechanism that is supposed to shut the door totally-ignoring the latch for the moment..

close the door. and look at the edges of the door in the door frame.. whatever crack you got on ANY ONE edge, you should have the same, all along that side.. if its an eight inch (4mm) it needs to be the same all the way ON THAT EDGE. look at the door jamb, on the floor..it got wear marks where the door is dragging?

open the door and with it open about 45 degrees, pick up on the edge of the door opposite the hinges-see if it wiggles.. it does? bad hinges or loose screws or something wrong with the door jamb.. it doesnt? good. the door closing mechanism.. the hydraulic arm on the top hinge side of the door, might be bad, weak, or need adjusting.

that pass muster? then we go to the door latch/magnet CHECK THE VOLTAGE.. make certain its not got a bad wire and is getting sufficient power to energize,

check the latch itself-they can be old and get worn, or someone has jammed it at some time and it might need replacing.

you ALSO could have a bad latch in the door lock.. they can wear and get caught and jam in some funny ways.

my personal bet is the hinges bad, and its dragging --Shiva--

Reply to
me

Try WD40 on both parts of the latch. It could well just be a bit stiff.

Reply to
Robert

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