Door Won't Close or Latch Repair in Los Angeles
A door that sticks, rubs the frame, swings open by itself or needs a shoulder to latch. We find what has moved and adjust it so the door closes with one hand. Send a photo or a short video for a free online estimate.
Service call $75 · free when we do the job the same visit
Tell us what needs fixing — even "something's wrong with the door" is enough. Then pick a time that works for you.
- Done rightClean, careful work. We check it with you before we leave.
- FastBook online in a minute. On time, every time.
- Hands-offNo back-and-forth. We show up and fix it.
A door that will not close or latch is one of the most common calls we get. The front door has to be pushed hard before the deadbolt turns, the bedroom door bounces back open, the bathroom door rubs the frame at the top, or the patio door swings open on its own. Behind almost all of these is something small that has moved: a hinge that has sagged, a strike plate that no longer lines up with the latch, a frame that has shifted with the house, or a floor that is now higher than the bottom of the door. KapMorgan repairs doors that stick, rub or will not latch across Los Angeles. We find the cause first and adjust it, so the door closes and locks the way it should. It is one of the everyday jobs in our door repair work.
Doors That Close Right
Doors and hardware from our jobs. Photos of latch and strike repairs will be added as new jobs come in.
Door sticking or not latching? Text a short video of the door closing — you get the exact price by text.
Send photosDoor Won't Close or Latch: Repair Cost
One clear price per door, confirmed from your photo or video.
- Cause found: hinge, strike, frame or floor
- Hinges tightened or shimmed
- Strike plate moved to meet the latch
- Close, latch and lock test
Several small tasks add up — $150 minimum per visit.
- Small jobs: $150 minimum. Service call $75 — free when we do the job the same visit.
- Bigger jobs: from $150, price agreed before we start.
- On-site estimate: free when we do the job the same visit. Job on another day or estimate only: $75 service call.
- Free online estimate: send photos and details (and whether you have the materials) — we reply with a clear price. When the actual job differs from the photos, the price follows the actual work.
- Materials: priced separately from labor (client's own materials are fine).
A short video of the door closing is the fastest way to an exact price.
Is It the Hinges, the Strike Plate or the Frame?
Watch where the door touches. If it rubs at the top corner on the latch side, the door has sagged on its hinges, and the fix starts at the top hinge. If it closes fully but the latch will not catch, the latch and the strike plate no longer line up; the strike is moved or its opening is enlarged so the latch drops in. If the door swings open by itself, the hinges are out of plumb, often because the frame has shifted. If it scrapes the floor, the floor has changed or the door has dropped. We check all four on the visit and fix the one that is actually at fault, so you are not paying for parts the door does not need.
Fixed in 3 steps
Send a video
Ten seconds of the door closing, plus a photo of the latch side. That usually shows the cause.
Exact price by text
One number and a visit time.
Adjusted and tested
Hinges, strike or latch set, door closed and locked several times with one hand.
Clients whose doors would not close
What’s Included
- Finding where the door binds or misses the strike
- Tightening, shimming or re-anchoring the hinges
- Moving or opening up the strike plate to meet the latch
- A close, latch and lock test before we leave
Signs a Door Needs Adjusting
- The door won’t close all the way without a push
- The latch clicks but does not catch
- The deadbolt has to be forced to turn
- The door rubs the frame or scrapes the floor
- The door swings open or closed on its own
- Light visible along one edge of the closed door
Any door that sticks
- Front and back entry doors
- Bedroom and bathroom doors
- Garage entry doors
- French doors
- Closet and pantry doors
- Doors with smart locks
- Doors after new flooring
- Doors in older homes that settled
- Sliding patio doors that will not close
Door Won’t Latch: What Usually Causes It
The latch is the spring-loaded tongue in the edge of the door; the strike plate is the metal plate in the frame it drops into. They only meet when the door hangs where it was hung. A few millimetres of sag, or a frame that moved with the seasons, and the latch hits the plate instead of dropping in. Moving the strike, or carefully opening up its hole, is often all a door needs.
A door that will not close all the way is a different problem: something stops it before the latch even reaches the strike. That can be a hinge-bound door whose hinge side is too tight, paint build-up on the stop, a weatherstrip that is too thick, or a door that has swelled. Each has its own fix, and planing a door is the last resort, not the first.
Older homes across Los Angeles shift a little every year, and new flooring changes the height under a door. When a door scrapes a new rug or tile, trimming the bottom of the door is the fix. When a deadbolt binds, the bolt is not lining up with its hole; forcing it wears the lock, so we line it up instead.
The KapMorgan Difference
Exact price from a video
You know the number before we come, and the invoice matches it.
Adjusted, not planed
We move what has moved and only cut the door when nothing else will do.
Short visits
Most latch and sticking problems are fixed in under an hour.
Free photo estimates
Ask with a photo or video; booking is your decision.
Door Won’t Close or Latch FAQ
Door adjustment for sticking, rubbing or not latching starts at $125. If a hinge has to be replaced it starts at $125, and a new latch or handle is $85.
Something stops it before the latch reaches the strike: a sagging hinge, a frame that shifted, a thick weatherstrip or a swollen door. We find which one and adjust it.
The plate is moved up or down to meet the latch, or its opening is enlarged slightly. The door then latches without being pushed.
It has sagged on its top hinge. Re-anchoring that hinge lifts the door back into place.
The hinges are out of plumb, so gravity pulls the door open. Adjusting the hinges stops it.
Yes. Sliding patio doors usually need rollers adjusted or replaced and the track cleaned.
Yes, from a short video or photos. If what we find on the visit differs from the photos, the price follows the actual work. An on-site estimate is free when we do the job the same visit, otherwise it is a $75 service call.
You May Also Need
Close the door with one hand again
One video → one exact price by text.
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