How to Install a Strike Plate for an Interior Door

Close the door. Mark the vertical centerline where the latch bolt touches the door jamb.

Measure the horizontal distance from the outer door edge to the flat vertical face of the lock latch, referred to as the "latch setback." Measure this same distance from the face of the door jamb toward the latch centerline marked in Step 1, and draw a line at this point. Use a hand square to extend both lines until they intersect.

Hold the strike plate's face against the jamb. Align the center point on the front edge of the strike plate's hole with the intersecting point marked in Step 2. Make certain the strike plate is square to the jamb, then outline the inside edge of the strike plate hole and the outer silhouette of the full plate with a sharp pencil.

Extend the latch bolt height centerline marked in Step 1 to cross the outline of the strike plate hole. Measure and mark the horizontal center point of the pencil outline. This is the center point of the strike cup hole. For strikes with or without a metal cup component, the hole serves as space for the latch bolt behind the strike plate.

Bore a 7/8-inch hole at the strike cup center point defined in Step 4. For standard 3/4-inch interior jambs, bore through the jamb into the shim space (the space between the jamb and the wallboard). For heavier styles of interior jambs, bore to an approximate depth of 1 inch.

Outline the strike plate on the jamb using a utility knife. Cut to a depth of about 1/8 inch or enough to sever the wood veneer surface.

Mortise within the strike plate outline. To do this, use a wood chisel to cut to a level depth of about 1/8 inch, until the strike plate inserts to flush with the jamb surface.

Set the strike plate into the mortise to check its fit, then use an awl to mark both of the strike plate screw hole centers.

Place the strike plate over the metal cup and into the jamb mortise. Secure them both to the jamb with the two screws provided.