Well, that was about 1000% easier than removing the door trim and realigning the double doors to my home office. I had no idea these ball catches were adjustable. Now instead of having one door that wouldn't shut (ball too high), and the other door that wouldn't stay shut (ball too low) I can now easily shut both doors. Thank you.

@Komainu959

2 жыл бұрын

Are your ball catches loud? I find them to be annoyingly loud and was going to change over to magenta catches just for that reason alone. My parents home has magnet catches and it's over 50 years old and they still work fine. But the catches are all metal unlike the plastic ones on the video...I guess that shows how old they are lol.

I have over 30 years of door hanging experience. Instead of replacing The ball catches with the cheap magnet that will eventually break. I recommend taking the ball catch out of the door and purchasing what is called a roller catch. It has a neoprene roller that is friction based much like the current ball catch works. It has a thumb turn adjustability built into it that can increase the pressure and the height of the neoprene roller. All you have to do is use the existing hole that the ball catch had and take a pencil and draw out the rectangular plate that is attached to the new roller catch. Chisel it a 16th deep into the top of the door and use two screws to attach it. More than likely you can still use the existing mortises that are on the door jamb header and swap them with the new plates that come with the roller catches. In this way you are using all the original preps that are on the door jamb and the top of the door only needs slight chiseling or none, if the gap at the top of the door is big. If after the install, the door tends to rattle a little bit between the back of the door where it would touch the jamb stop, simply put in a clear adhesive bumper or a felt adhesive bumper stuck to the jamb stop to stop any rattling.

@jesses5463

3 ай бұрын

Magnet idea sounds better. Create a youtube video to show otherwise.

@iliketakingshowers

3 ай бұрын

I love you

@jesses5463

3 ай бұрын

FWIW, I just crushed the end of the ball catch real good and it seems unlikely that the ball will be popping out of there anytime soon.

You forgot the other “feature” of the ball stops: that the ball will slip past the cheap flanges that hold them in. Usually, there is enough power in the spring to launch the little musket ball up into the ceiling and leave a black indent before bouncing down and hitting the top of the head of the poor person trying to get their shirt at 7 a.m. That’s right. Pre-coffee. Hurts too.

@asthasr2

3 жыл бұрын

I was holding a coffee mug when mine shot me. Went into my coffee and broke the mug.

@dstewart7470

2 жыл бұрын

LMAO

@annalbin

Жыл бұрын

Ditto-they always fly out, hit the ceiling, leave a mark on the strike plate, and scare the crap out of me and my cats. I have lived in my condo for 5 years and had to fix four of them several times. A real pain.

@thumperohio8752

Жыл бұрын

i have the issue with popping out top, even replaced new, considering i paid for these doors to be made (bathroom remodel) and added the top hinge/ball. after changing 2xs and several launches, i have just removed ball. usually open, guest just pull shut long as no one minds. sucks that those do that for no reason.

@nottavictim5

Жыл бұрын

Happened to my girlfriend! Shoulda happened to my ex-wife

Am a 74 year old retired engineer, and I have learned something today, I never knew the adjustable feature of ball catches. Thank you and good wishes from England.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧😁.

I have 3 sets of these doors in my home, 2 are French doors and 1 is the kitchen pantry. Some of the balls or springs were missing when I moved in 4 years ago. I removed a set from one door and walked the aisles of Lowes, Home Depot and Ace Hardware trying to find replacement parts. Even employees were unable to help me. I showed it to my house painter and several males in the family that I thought knew everything with no luck. I've been searching for an all-around handyman for four years also with no luck. I am a female with no experience in this sort of thing and didn't even know the part I was looking for is called a "ball catch" until I just Googled "interior door ball spring magnet" and found your KZread video. I feel like I've struck gold! Thank you for explaining it so clearly. I can't wait to finally get my doors fixed!

@KevinJonessuprq87

4 ай бұрын

Lowe's Aisle 17 - Door hardware

I'm glad you did the first part with adjusting the ball catch. Saved me some money since I didn't have to buy a new ball catch.

@slingbart705

3 жыл бұрын

$5/ pair on amazon. you spend more for lunch at Mickey D's

I’ve been bothered by two sets of these in our cabin for 5 years. Never knew they were adjustable! Thanks!

You, sir, are my hero! We've had closet doors that were so hard to open. After watching this, I was able to adjust the ball down and now the doors open and close perfectly. Thank you!

Thank you for sharing this. I've been fighting one of these adjusted too high for longer than I'd like to admit. I had it fixed in 20 seconds.

Perfect timing...we just moved into a newer home and my wife just told me our hallway coat closet has this problem...now I can look like a genius and fix this!...lol..tks!

Fab, was looking for a solution to my walk-in wardrobe doors and this is perfect!

Your help fixed my closet doors. Thank you!

15 years of slamming one closet door (I’ve now learned because ball was to high) and it’s mate was always swinging open. Well, Banging door ball catch finally broke. Putting on this magnet was such a great solution and you made it SO easy. Thank you!

Thanks! This is a good tip. I do think it's important to make sure you get strong magnets. I've found some magnetic catches that are far too weak. One thing I'm surprised you didn't do was use the double sticky tape on the plate to make sure it didn't fall. It's an extra step, but if you have to get up on a ladder or step stepstool to put it on, it's best to make sure it doesn't fall so you don't have to climb down and look for it.

You do a great job at explaining and showing how to do things. Great attention to detail and very well-made.

Oh my God! Thank you!!! We have these ball latch POS things on our master bathroom doors and they are SO loud. Early morning opening always wakes the spouse. We are doing this magnet replacement tomorrow!

Incredibly helpful, clear instructions and very simple yet handy tips! Thanks for sharing

Just replaced many interior doors. Have 5 doubles, with ball catches. I’ve saved this AWESOME video for down the road. Thanks so much.

Great tip! I have some french doors that have the problem of the ball "unwinding" itself over time making the opening and closing of the door more difficult and noisy. I am not going to do exactly as you described. But in watching this, I realized that if I replace the ball with a strong enough magnet, it will be attracted to the striker plate and should hold the door in place. Now, if you could have a video on how to align a pair of french doors without tearing the entire frame out and starting from scratch. (Well, even aligning them from scratch is a bit of mystery to me.)

"Astragal" I learned something today, thanks.

@TheHonestCarpenter

5 жыл бұрын

seth jensen You’re welcome! Thanks for watching 🙂

@citylockapolytechnikeyllcc7936

3 жыл бұрын

Your fenestrations can be more weathertight with an astragal, and your home will make quite a statement with a full out architrave.

@albertpurcella4988

3 жыл бұрын

@@TheHonestCarpenter ≠

This was a super amazing video - had these installed and they became so tight the door could not be opened. Pulling it open actually caused the handle to come away from the door. I will definitely be buying these magnetic plates.....thank you for the solution.....

Mag catches are great. I bought good bedroom furniture that had doors on them. All the doors had the pinch type catches that pinch a post attached to the door. They always caught my clothes, were too hard to open and had to slam shut. I replaced them all with these mag catches in brown to match the color of the wood. Couldn't be happier with the results.

Thanks for the great video. We just moved into a new house. Just like you said, half the doors in our house with ball catches are too high. I’ll be taking care of this today. Thanks again. Take care.

Thank you so much I have 4 double door closets this will be happening too. No more ball bearings bouncing out and hitting us on the head or stuck doors!

As always, the information is just perfect on this channel. I prefer embedded neodymium magnets on cabinet doors but for closet doors, this is definitely the way to go. Also the tips on installing just make this a great video.

I had this exact problem and was looking for a solution, because I did not want to replace the ball catches. I should have thought about this approach, but just hadn't. Thanks for this tip!! Now I have a project for this weekend.

I have these ball catches on my pantry door and am having to adjust all the time. This solves the problem. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks. I just went and fixed the one on my pantry in my apartment. The ball had popped out. Gave that inner sleeve a little squeeze with channel locks so it would stay in and adjusted both catches. Works great now. C-clip pliers worked better than my needle nose.

@TheHonestCarpenter

5 жыл бұрын

Road Toad Hey, you’re welcome! Thanks for the tip with the pliers-I’ll be trying that next time 😄

I was just about to go buy two replacement ball sets but now i'm going this direction. Thanks for the idea.

@glenzacharias4670

3 жыл бұрын

Stay with the ball catch

This was really great I have an interia door that has this ball catch but is situated near the door handle, the wooden door frame has a small well depression for acting as a catch for the ball hinge but it's not working, I loved this tip you shared as it's easy to install, I really learned something new here from you, this channel is fast becoming my faveriout and I consider it to be excellent content, expert advice and know how, I also learned how I can adjust this not closing door issue, on my interia closet door, in my case it is raising the ball head, or I will need a new spring. Thank you this is a totally great video, outstanding job, brilliant of you to share this I gave it thumbs up and I'm already a new subscriber, love your channel for your amazing content. Iam a Novice diy-er interested in carpentry and joinery and home improvements. Laura in uk

I just bought a new house and they have those ball grab latches in two bedrooms and one in the broom closet. They are junk, the builder had to install longer flush screws because the ball was causing the screws to wear out the holes. (ball was stuck up or set to high) like in your video, they had to come back two times to try and fix it but with no luck. I just adjusted the ball grab and add thread lock to the threads. So I hope I fixed it it seems to be working a lot better, but only time will tell. Great video, just wish I looked you up a year ago.

thanks for the video, I just ordered a couple of magnet catchers and will install

I'm new to DIY but I decided to do some minor repairs myself to save money. Your channel helps me every time. Thank you.

@TheHonestCarpenter

3 жыл бұрын

You’re welcome, Mary! Thanks for watching, and good luck with your projects 🙂

Nice alternative. I haven't had any problems with the several sets of ball catches but I appreciate having an alternative solution if needed.

I have hungs over 600 sets in the past 35+ years in Macomb and Oakland County Michigan. I have replaced about 150 strike plates.Brass is out ,other finishes are in. I even use these on understair door panels and othe storage doors. The magmets never hold back over stuffed storage. You tighten the button catches a smidge ,and bingo bango. Nevervsaw rust onbspring I put in.I spray graphite in all springs.

Exactly the info and alternative I needed right now. Thanks!

awesome thanks for the tip! I am a new carpenter and I was struggling with a ball catch latch last week.

I've been replacing ball catches for 2 years, thank you!

Great tip! I have some french doors in a rental house and I've tried "fixing' the ball catch a couple of times. Working for now, but think I might need to use this fix between renters to not have to "fix" it anymore! Cheers!

@TheHonestCarpenter

5 жыл бұрын

@Andres Salas Thank you! I've messed with so many faulty ones over the years, I just had to start using another method. I've never thought the magnets appeared too obtrusive. I appreciate you watching!

Wow thank you for this, been having this issues since I moved!

Thanks for posting this idea! Followed your advice for our French doors and it works great!

Thank you so much for explaining what could be done. I had no idea the ball was adjustable and was going to live with doors that shouldn't shut!

Great video! We have two pairs of 6'6"x 3' closet doors on our bedroom closet. Builder installed the roller type ball catches and they are sooo strong you can barely pull them open. Then all the doors shake and it is really noisy !! I attached the handles using bolts with washers/nuts so the MDF would be safe from screws ripping out. Meanwhile looking for a way to soften the spring of the roller, I came across your video. Not sure if the rollers will be adjustable for strength, but at least there are some wonderful other ideas in the comments. I love the comments - they are a goldmine.... Cheers !

That was a very helpful tutorial! Thanks for the information. Especially on how to line up the magnet and plate.

@TheHonestCarpenter

5 жыл бұрын

You’re welcome John! As always, thanks for watching 🙂

I just moved into a new house and saw the strike plates but didn't know what they were. The doors did not latch. I saw the video. I took them apart and now they work. I look like a genius. Thanks to The Honest Carpenter.

Great video & Thanks! I didn't even consider this and was going to try replacing the fake door nobs with real ones, will give this a shot!

I've replaced these on my home office french door set up at least 3 times in last 10 years which means they break every 3 years or so. Very helpful.

Thank you! I just used this method to fix 6 different closet doors and they operate so much better now!

@TheHonestCarpenter

3 жыл бұрын

That’s great to hear, Dave!

Holy cow! I was just about to install the ball catch plates in my closet doors when I found your video. Looks like 2021 is off to a good start!

@TheHonestCarpenter

3 жыл бұрын

😄

Good tip about replacing with a magnet latch. I never knew that the ball latch had any adjustments but I hardly use them.

My builder had left without putting a ball latch in the magnet idea is fantastic. Got to try that,thanks

Thank you! I have ball catches that just barely engage at maximum adjustment - probably due to settling. I now have a solution other than chasing a ball and holder that unscrewed itself, and then jumped out every few months.

Great idea. I was just readjusting one of my ball latches today for about the tenth time. Going to change to the magnets.

Well done! I didn't know the ball latch was adjustable! Thank you!

Thank you for the video and tips. Can’t wait to replace old hardware with the magnetic set up.

Great idea! I will use these when I build a frame around my crawl space opening and make double doors out of plywood.

Great video Ethan. Haven’t had much experience with ball latches but will know better now. Thanks

@TheHonestCarpenter

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Ed! Hopefully this saves you a little frustration if you ever run into them 🙂

can't believe I didn't think of magnet catches... I've been thinking of replacing closet ball catches. Thank you!

Thanks so much! Trying to figure out how to replace the springs on the doors in the house we moved into just to find there's supposed to be a ball there 😂 magnets it is! Great tips!

My cupboard and double doors have magnetic catches in the same position as the ball catches that you showed. They are flush with the top of the door and the door frames so are very neat, and they work beautifully. They hold the doors well and are completely silent. The frames have tiny rubber bumpers so the doors don't bang into them. They only thing I don't know about is what will happen when the doors sag or the frames move a bit. Hopefully they are strong enough to keep holding the doors shut.

Wow. Our ball latches made the door always impossible to open without ripping the handle out of the door. I didn't know they were adjustable. A few twists and they are easy to open now. Thank you! If I keep having issues, I'll switch to magnetic catches.

Thank you for this video - I cannot believe I didn't think of this fix. I had some laundry doors just like in the video where the ball latches have been messed up for years. 10 min of work later and they were fixed. Thanks again!

@TheHonestCarpenter

3 жыл бұрын

Great to hear, Andrew! Thanks for watching 😄

Thank you for all these tips AND "astragal." We want to put those closet doors on 3 closets. You are a good teacher!

@TheHonestCarpenter

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Susan!

The magnets work, but honestly I've never had issues with the ball catches after they're adjusted properly.

@RGrizzzz

2 жыл бұрын

A little lube makes a huge difference too. 3 in 1 oil works well.

@judsonishaan5212

2 жыл бұрын

i know im asking the wrong place but does any of you know of a way to get back into an instagram account..? I was dumb forgot my password. I would love any tips you can offer me

@omaribrecken7916

2 жыл бұрын

@Judson Ishaan Instablaster =)

@chrisreynolds2410

Жыл бұрын

The magnet are cheap and a hack would use them

What a nice builder, never painted the door to so in time it will absorb moisture and swell.

Just brilliant sir thank you

great video and a huge help. Going to change over to the magnetic catch

Very useful solution

Thank you. I needed to know how to adjust the ball joint.

Excellent information. I have not seen this anywhere else. Thank You.

Thank you! I was looking for something to replace those ball catch things. Last 3 places I've lived had missing ball bearings and springs just poking out scratching the door frames.

That is a great, simple solution that I will be installing this weekend. Thank you. Liked and Subscribed!

@TheHonestCarpenter

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks JiMiCrAcK! I appreciate you watching and subscribing. Good luck with the install! 🙂

Brilliant! Thank you so much....this will eliminate a real headache I've had with my door.

@TheHonestCarpenter

4 жыл бұрын

You’re welcome Steve! Thanks for watching 🙂

This was so helpful!! Exactly the info I was looking for! Thanks

@TheHonestCarpenter

4 жыл бұрын

You’re welcome!

Very practical and useful. Double benefit!

Fantastic vid. I have some of these exact malfunctioning units in my home. Great tip.

Brilliant! Thx Mate! Been f&%kin' with the ball hatches for a couple of years and they are a pain! Will definitely be looking you up going forward for all home projects.

Thanks! I used the needle nose fix last night!

@TheHonestCarpenter

5 жыл бұрын

@David B Good to hear! Thanks for watching 🙂

OMG!!!!! THANK YOU for putting this out here. I just purchased a house with these stupid things and I have adjusted so many times already.......I'm heading to the store NOW!!!!!!

My wife and I have discovered a problem with the magnetic type since we are now older and have thinner skin (literally). Ours are mostly on cabinet doors, and if we reach into the upper part of a cabinet, the sharp edges on the plastic tower can produce a nasty cut if we're not careful. On many of them, I have rounded the edges and corners with a Dremel tool to help with this. A small file will also work.

Thanks for this. I've 'lost' one of the ball latches, so the door will not stay closed. Now I've found a way that it will.

This will make my husband's day. He thinks magnets can solve any problem...looks like you proved him right again!

one of the greatest videos of my evenings

Great video. Great alternative because one ball I can’t find and getting the other out was a pain and almost messed up my door. Easy solution that cost me 3 dollars at Home Depot

Thanks for the info, I have two doors that doesn’t latch on properly. Will make the change. Thanks

Great video! Thanks for posting!

Thanks for posting this! Now I know how to remove and adjust it. Update: my ball latch was already adjusted all the way down but was still sticking up a bit too high to work easily. This was stressing out the door handle. The hole was drilled at a very,very slight angle which caused the problem. After disassembling, cleaning, and lubricating, I used a wire cutters to snip just a tiny bit off of the spring. Now it works perfectly!

Walking through the positioning, indent marking, and adjustability, of the magnetic latches has sold me on them. That they're cheap as chips too, doesn't hurt.

OMG, a million times THANKS!!! I hate those stupid ball catch things I have them on my pantry door which gets used often and they are a royal pain!! I will be installing these!!

I don’t have these in my home, but this video is kind of fascinating. Good tips. Thanks.

I really enjoy your videos. Always learn something new!

Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

Man! You're a genius lol. My office door was like this and I wasn't sure how to adjust it. I might try the magnets if it messes up again. Thanks

~ YOU'RE AMAZINGGGGGGGGGGGGG! The alternative magnet catch is EXACTLY what I need AND I can do myself without any help! *THANK YOU!* btw...for a double door you can purchase a "Double magnetic catch" which might help with stability

Thank you for your detailed video. Nice job.

Thanks for your excellent, direct teaching on this. I appreciate your work!

@TheHonestCarpenter

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching, Craig!

Nice, I’m really frustration with another kind of flimsy latch on my pantry, this looks like a great fix.

@rjsophia9608

3 жыл бұрын

Pantry latch is a ball latch. Been using a rubber band to keep malfunctioning side closed. Thanks for the fix!👍🏼

Thank you for such a clear explanation and video!

Super helpful! Thank you!

Awesome fix, thank you!