How to Install a Strike on a French Door

Remove the old striker plate, if there is one. Turn the screws counterclockwise using a Phillips screwdriver. There are usually three to four screws that secure the striker plate to the edge of the door.

Bring the two doors together until the latching mechanism on the other door is just touching the edge of the door receiving the striker plate. Draw a line using a pencil at the top and bottom edges of the latching mechanism onto the edge of the door receiving the striker plate. This will mark exactly where the latching mechanism hits the other door.

Fit the striker plate onto the edge of the door with the curved edge just covering the inside edge of the door. Adjust the plate so that the hole in the plate is between the two pencil marks you made on the door edge.

Insert the screws that came with the striker plate one by one through the screw holes and into the door. Use a Phillips screwdriver to tighten the screws clockwise. Ensure that the screws are completely inserted so that none of the heads are raised above the striker plate surface. Close the door and watch how the latching mechanism interacts with the striker plate. If an adjustment must be made, unscrew the striker plate and move it in the direction that will make it latch properly.