Your Questions About Changing A Lock On A Double Glazed Door

Richard asks…

double glaze door- locking trouble please read?

double glaze door will not lock when shut, it seems to lock when its open!. We have changed the barral, and tried everything and cannot get it to open, could anyone suggest anything other than replacing the door please

Thanks for reading
Hi.The door was from coldseal.The lock is as follows: roller..hook down…hook up…roller…latch…deadbold…hook dowm…hook up…roller.
Everything is working fine when door is open we can also lock the deadbolt while door is open.all parts are lined up with door frame.when we close the door,everything fits together as it should do,we can lift the handle but deadbolt wont turn when door is closed
Ok,we have tried the lip stick suggestion.its marking the exact center of the hole.think we have tried everything now.any more suggestions will be appreciated

trip answers:

The door has dropped slightly, happens all the time. Try this, close the door ,lift it by the handle and then lift the handle to engage the mechanism. To lift the door look on top of your hinges and you will see a plastic cover, take that off and using an alen key or hex key turn the stud clockwise to lift the door. If it’s not on the top of the hinge it will be on the underside of the hinge, all depends what system it is.
Good luck

Michael asks…

Private Landlord issues?

i moved into my current flat in July 10 and signed a 6 months assured short term tennancy agreement. Since then due to loss of work and claiming housing bennifit i owe rent arrears (which i cannot pay due to having to claim state bennifit).
1) My tennancy agreement ran out in Jan 11 and i am still in the flat and the landlord is still adding arrears and claiming my rent off the local council past Jan 11 but we have not signed a new tennancy agreement from Jan 11.
2) he comes round or sends his “assosiates/thugs” round to threaten me and he/they also try to get into my flat (i am now to affraid to answer the door to anyone) when i am not there or without giving ANY notice at all.
3) he has been giving my number out to his “associates/thugs” without my knowledge/permission and they have been texting me threatening texts telling me to pay up or else “they will come and change the locks and remove my possesions (i have lost these texts due to my phone)
4) He charges me the same for my little one bed, no central heating, no double glazing, no alarm system and poorly decorated flat as he does someone for a two bed HOUSE which is fully carpeted, double glazed, central heating, with bath/power shower and fully decorated.

Is he allowed to do any of the above things i have listed……i.e claim rent off the council after my tennancy agreement expired, keep charging me rent after the tennancy has ran out knowing im still here give out my number, try gain entry when i am there/not there without prior notice or my aknowledgement, threaten me in anyway shape or form or try and take my property and to charge me the same he charges for bigger properties/houses even tho my flat is not half the size?

trip answers:

1 – unless you’ve given written notice of ending your tenancy, it’s likely it’ll keep going on a month-by-month basis – check your tenancy agreement for details
2 – landlords need to give tenants 24 hours notice before visiting the property
3 – giving out your personal contact information without your consent is a data protection issue
4 – rent is up to him to set – if someone’s willing to pay the price, then he can charge it. That is entirely legal, and up to you to shop around for a better price

basically, you need to move out, get a new phone, and talk to the council.
If you need legal advice, get in touch with the citizen’s advice bureau

Mary asks…

who is responsible , me or my landlord..?

Myself and my partner rent our house of my Uncle, we have a full tenancy agreement.. Last week our house was broken into, burgulars stole, TV, Laptop, Nintendo Wii, Car Keys and Money, they ransacked my 2 babys bedrooms and our living room… They destroyed the lock on my back door and now it does not open.. My front door has been un-usable for 10 months now (we have to normally lock it from the inside and go around the back to get out as it could not be locked from the outside, now we cant go around the back to lock up as the back door is knackered) and the window was pulled open with a garden rake, and is now only nailed down..

So now when we go out of a day we cannot lock the house up due to the front door not being lockable from the outside, the door can just be pushed open..

I have told all this to my uncle and he has told me he is not willing to pay to get the doors or windows fixed as it is not his fault.. He lives in another country so I can only contact him by telephone.. Also, he has always known that the front door was unusable..!!!

Who is responsible, am I right in asking him to do the repairs or is it my responsibility..???

Just to clarify, my house does not have double glazing only old withered wood single glazing, and both doors are about 40 years old and when never in great condition to start with..!!

I feel so unsecure now and we have our 2 children aged 1 and 2 to think about, I cant rest and would move house if I could afford it, we have to replace a television, Laptop, Wii, and pay the excess on our car insurance to get car locks changed.. we cant afford to replace doors and windows aswell as do all this..!!
I do not have insurance (silly I know) there is NO WAY we can afford to buy 2 new doors and replace a window… I have told him that we will definatley be moving out in the next couple of months once we have saved up..

trip answers:

Since the uncle (LL) is out of town and you have repeatedly told him about the issue there are a couple of things you can do.
You can hire someone to fix the problem yourself and pay them with money from your rent. Deduct the amount of the repairs and send the remainder to the landlord (LL) next month
Get a temporary order through housing court to order your LL to fix this problem. Not being able to lock your house is considered ‘an inhabitable condition’ (may be called something else where you live). Your LL probably does not have insurance to cover this but it IS his problem. No one said it was his fault. And in the eyes of the court fault is not the issue. Responsibility is the issue, your LL is responsible but you can do either.
I suggest you WRITE a letter explaining your plan of action to your LL before you proceed. If this was me, I would call instead of write- but at least I would tell him he has 24 hours to hire someone or I will use whatever portion of my next months rent necessary to fix all of the broken doors. If you call, follow up the conversation with a letter. Keep a paper trail and be sure to get the receipt and send him a COPY keep the original for yourself for the rest of your tenancy there.
Your uncle is your uncle.
Your LL is your LL.
All my best.

Sandra asks…

Who is responsible..?

Myself and my partner rent our house of my Uncle, we have a full tenancy agreement.. Last week our house was broken into, burgulars stole, TV, Laptop, Nintendo Wii, Car Keys and Money, they ransacked my 2 babys bedrooms and our living room… They destroyed the lock on my back door and now it does not open.. My front door has been un-usable for 10 months now (only lockable from the inside, we normally had to access through the back door everyday) and the window was pulled open with a garden rake, and is now only nailed down..

So now when we go out of a day we cannot lock the house up due to the front door not being lockable from the outside, the door can just be pushed open..

Who is responsible, am I right in asking him to do the repairs or is it my responsibility..???

Just to clarify, my house does not have double glazing only old withered wood single glazing, and both doors are about 40 years old and when never in great condition to start with..!!

trip answers:

He is the landlord, and therefore he is responsible for making the repairs whether it was his “fault” or not, unless the damage was caused by your negligence.

Your uncle should be filing on his homeowner’s insurance in order to replace the things that were stolen from the house. Since it was vandalism the insurance will also probably pay for the windows/doors/etc to be repaired as well. He needs to contact them ASAP and see what they will do.

Linda asks…

who is responsible, me or my landlord..?

Myself and my partner rent our house of my Uncle, we have a full tenancy agreement.. Last week our house was broken into, burgulars stole, TV, Laptop, Nintendo Wii, Car Keys and Money, they ransacked my 2 babys bedrooms and our living room… They destroyed the lock on my back door and now it does not open.. My front door has been un-usable for 10 months now (only lockable from the inside, we normally had to access through the back door everyday) and the window was pulled open with a garden rake, and is now only nailed down..

So now when we go out of a day we cannot lock the house up due to the front door not being lockable from the outside, the door can just be pushed open..

Who is responsible, am I right in asking him to do the repairs or is it my responsibility..???

Just to clarify, my house does not have double glazing only old withered wood single glazing, and both doors are about 40 years old and when never in great condition to start with..!!