With no prior notice the doorknob to my garage suddenly didn't work. The "bolt" doesn't retract when you turn the knob. So I unscrewed the knob and removed it on both sides but still cannot get the bolt to retract. Can't get a credit card in from the outside because of angle of door frame. I tried pulling with a screwdriver but it doesn't cause the bolt to retract. I bought a new door knob but cannot use it until we get this one removed. I cannot even open the door. Any ideas?
I had exactly the same problem with a Kwickset latch (not deadbolt). Can't take the door off because of auto closure hinges. I was told that the only ways to open it were, 1) to take the molding off and spring the frame with a jack or 2) to take vice grips and break end of the bolt mechanism off and use needle nose pliers to remove the obstruction.
1) You take the molding off to remove shims between the door framing and the house framing so that the prehung door frame can move enough.
2) In my case after I got the bolt out by doing a bit of number one, I am not convinced that breaking the bolt mechanism would have worked because the obstruction seems to be too deep in the mechanism. It is jammed on something and it appears to be strong enough that getting it out is doubtful. Poor design.
If all else fails...take pins out of hinges and remove door to get to lock bolt.
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