Sliding glass door latch mechanism-Sash Controls-#2260

Question

The door was in a locked position. The latch to unlock the door was loose and would not move upward to release the lock and therefore, the door could not be opened. I removed the screws for the door handle as well as the small latch used for locking and unlocking the door. I applied WD-40 inside the lock mechanism. I then inserted the head of a small screwdriver to manually turn the cylinder in the door to the open position. I am able to turn the cylinder to the left, which I believe is the locked position, but it will not turn to the right, which I believe is the position for the latch to open. I do not have access to the room which this sliding glass door separates me from and that is my dilemma. Do you have any suggestions. Thank you.

Bob · Accepted Answer

Thanks for posting. Ah, we've seen this dilemma before. Unfortunately, you've tried all the best-case solutions. Even if you could access the door from the other side, if the mortise lock is completely jammed, I don't think it would make a difference. Unfortunately, at this point we usually recommend that you contact a professional to cut the mortise lock out of the door. Needless to say this is a messy job and we hate to recommend it, but there's usually no other choice. I am going to forward this discussion to one of our senior experts who specializes in patio doors, just in case he can devise something else. We'll let you know if we can come up with something.