How do you repair a Baldwin Logan front door handleset thumb latch It is hanging in the down position and I can only open the door from the inside?

Answer 1

I've seen this problem with the same brand of latch. Take it apart like this:

Remove the door know, the underlying decorative round cover and the inner piece that holds the long screws, then the lower small round cover and the underlying screw that holds the bottom of the latch on. Remove the outer handle.

The thumb latch is held in place by two small Philips screws on either side and the long shaft at the bottom of the cam mechanism. The thumb handle has a small t-shaped end that mates to slot in the side of the cam mechanism: on one end is a little tongue that fits into a small square opening and operates the opening mechanism.

We've seen two problems with this mechanism.

1) The two small screws that hold the thumb latch assembly together may be loose or missing. In one case, there was only one screw and over time it had worked loose. I slipped the tongue into the opening and put the screw back in place, tightened it and then reassembled the lock.

2) The tabs on either end of the t-shaped inside end of the thumb latch rest in seats on the rear of the cam housing. In one case, the bottom of this seat broke off and was missing, allowing the t-shaped end to slump in the mechanism. In this case the cam housing or the entire lockset must be replaced.

Answer 2

The handset needs to be removed-- it seems that the post rod that leads to the thumbpad is snapped off or dislodged from the thumbpad -- it needs to be removed and examined before you decide to buy another one unless you would rather spend another $130 for another lock + $ for mounting it.