I once called a handyman for a bathroom door that would not stay shut, and it turned out the fix was a screwdriver and two minutes of work. I felt a little silly, but I also never paid for that kind of call again.

If your door closes but the latch does not catch, the problem is almost always the strike plate, the metal plate on the door frame where the latch goes.

Find out how far off it is

Close the door slowly and watch where the latch hits the plate. If it hits above or below the hole, the plate needs to move. If it hits the hole but does not go in, the hole is too shallow or the plate is too far back.

• Mark where the latch is hitting with a pencil
• Loosen the two screws on the strike plate
• Shift the plate up or down to line up with the latch
• Tighten and test

When it still will not catch

If the latch lines up but the door will not stay latched, the problem is often that the house has settled and the door no longer sits square in the frame. Two quick fixes:

• Deepen the hole: remove the plate and carve the recess slightly deeper with a chisel or a utility knife
• Bend the little tab: many strike plates have a small metal tab inside the hole. Bend it slightly toward the stop so the latch catches tighter

The tab trick fixes more doors than people realize. It takes ten seconds and costs nothing.