Trigger Warning: “Innovation” ahead! :E
:W :B
Dan, there are actually a couple of ways to adjust the screen door latch. The way yours is adjusted, both the screen door and the outer door will be latched when the outer door is shut. You can also position the “hook” part on the outer door just a little lower so that when the outer door is shut, it pushes the screen door handle down just enough so it is no longer engaging the screen door striker plate on the door frame. That way, when you open the outer door the next time, both it and the screen door open at the same time.
That’s the way I have my screen door latch adjusted, but when our cats are in the camper, I also want to have the option of having the screen door stay closed when the outer door is opened. So, I made a “dead bolt” for the screen door that is part of the sliding panel. If the panel is closed, the screen is dead bolted. To help the hook part separate from the screen door handle, I filed the hook just a little bit on that inside surface to give it a slightly ramped shape. You still have to pull on the outer door firmly, but it doesn’t feel Ike it’s going to break the handle on the screen.
The dead bolt is made from flat aluminum stock with a spacer made from HDPE plastic, and riveted to the slider panel.
Making the dead bolt as wide as the panel stiffened the panel up nicely.
Closed and engaged. I made the hole it goes through by heating the aluminum up with a heat gun and pushing it through the plastic.
The hook. I didn’t have to file it much at all to make it separate easier.
:):)
