A customer in Hounslow got in touch because the front door was becoming increasingly difficult to double-lock.
For anyone who doesn’t have this type of multipoint locking system, double-locking means lifting the handle and then turning the key so the door isn’t just sitting on the latch — the rollers, hooks or bolts are engaged as well.
The tolerances on these systems are fairly small. Once the door moves out of alignment, the handle becomes harder to lift and the key becomes harder to turn. A lot of people put that down to the weather and carry on using more force. Weather can play a part, but — and it’s a big but, with one T only 😆 — the door should still have enough adjustment built in to allow for normal expansion and contraction without becoming difficult to operate.
On this job the customer called at the right time. Nothing had actually broken yet, so the repair was still an alignment job rather than a mechanism replacement. The reason they had managed to put up with it for so long was that this particular uPVC panel door was very light. A heavier composite or solid door would usually start showing much more obvious problems sooner.
The useful rule is simple: on a multipoint locking door, whether it’s uPVC, composite or bi-fold, the handle should lift easily and the key should turn without a fight. If you’re having to lean on the handle or force the key, something is wrong. Get it checked before a relatively simple adjustment becomes a broken gearbox, damaged mechanism or a door that no longer locks or opens.
