The afternoon’s warm, the breeze is light, and the pillow is cool and fresh. Time for a nap. Except every time the air moves, the door rattles like Dorothy’s farmhouse. It’s noisy because the latch has too much wiggle room; the door is thumping against the moulding. Luckily, there are easy fixes.
For one, you can cushion the gap with the self-adhesive felt pads (likely in your junk drawer) that protect surfaces from scratches. Stick two small pieces on the inside of the door-stop moulding where the door’s top and bottom corners make contact.
You can also tighten the gap by unscrewing the door strike from the frame and, using pliers, slightly bending the prong (or tang) on the back so the latch pulls the door close.
Some strikes have no tang, and some doors rattle in winter but are tight in summer. In that case, pick up an adjustable strike at the hardware store, and you can tweak the door into year-round silence.
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