A customer in Stanwell got in touch because the front-door nightlatch was not working properly and they were worried it might eventually leave them locked out.
When I arrived, the first thing I saw was a very crooked rim lock that looked almost as relieved to see me as the customer was.
Removing the nightlatch backbox revealed more evidence of previous attempts to make it work by any means necessary. The backplate was badly out of line, some screws were fitted where they should not have been and others were missing from the places they were actually needed.
The lock itself did not need replacing. I straightened and realigned the backplate and lock components, corrected the fixings and put everything back together properly.
Once adjusted, the nightlatch was operating normally again and the front door had a much more secure — and considerably tidier — installation than when I arrived.
