Repair tips for doors that won’t shut properly and bad furniture finishes

Q: My front door is solid wood with a solid storm door. The main door fit snugly for some years, but recently it has developed a large gap on the latch side, from the knob to the floor. The latch also will not engage. What’s wrong, and how can I fix it?

A: I think the top of the door has dropped a bit, creating a tapered gap from knob to floor. The gap also made the latch unable to engage, either because the latch itself dropped a bit or the gap is too wide for the latch and/or deadbolt to reach the keeper.

First, check to see if the hinges are tight, both on the jamb and on the edge of the door. There are three of them, and just looking will not reveal anything. Check the screws with a screwdriver. If there are loose screws, tighten them. If the screws keep turning, put a sliver of wood in the hole so the screws will tighten up. The door should return to its original position when all the hinges are tightened, and the latch and/or deadbolt will engage in the keeper (the brass plate screwed to the jamb).

If the latch fails to re-engage, it may be too high or too low. Try to close the door and see where the latch hits the plate. If the latch is too low, take the plate off and file down the bottom. Sometimes the latch will not engage when you close the door, or you may have to give it a bump to close it. If that is the case, you can file the side of the keeper opening.

Q: When I bought some used wood furniture, I painted it flat black. It looked good, but I wanted a slight sheen, so I applied furniture polish, and it came out badly streaked and looks terrible.

A: Don’t panic. Clean the polish off with paint thinner; two applications may be needed. Once the black is nice and flat and not streaked, never use the polish again. To get a sheen, apply two thin coats of an oil-based semigloss polyurethane varnish.

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