We've been renting a 1952 rambler for nine years, and recently our landlords had the roof redone. It was a loud process, but we didn't notice any immediate damage. However, after the work, our house seems to have settled quite a bit, and now none of the locks—inside or outside—are working properly; they just won't latch or lock anymore. I'm worried about the hassle and cost of getting a locksmith to install new locks and re-key the deadbolts, especially since the shift seems minor enough that drilling new holes likely won't work. I'm looking for advice on how to fix this situation with the locks.
2 Answers
Yeah, it’s not normal for your locks to stop working like that. Your landlord should definitely bring in an engineer to assess if the roofing work caused any rafter damage. Given the age of the house, it’s possible the rafters were just nailed in and might have come loose with all that work. It could potentially be unsafe if that’s the case!
You might not need to replace the locks after all. Try moving or removing the strike plates—the part of the door frame that the locks latch into. Sometimes simply adjusting these can get the locks working again. However, if you notice that multiple doors are misaligned, you should get a structural engineer to check it out, as it might indicate a bigger issue with the house settling due to the roof work. Make sure to document any evidence linking the roofing to the shifts for possible insurance coverage.
That makes sense. But do you really think the roofing could have caused all this misalignment?
It's definitely a possibility. If they had to replace beams or if the roof was heavily compromised, it could affect the whole structure.