How do I replace this catch?

seamus

Right, the plastic catch for my attic trapdoor broke last night. I tried to bodge a screw in its place, but it grips onto the mechanism too strongly, and it has to be screwed in too low down so the wood will just crack. Pictures of the broken catch below. Any ideas on what I could use to replace this? Superglue won't be strong enough to repair it.

Buford T Justice

Hmmm....... tbh, it kinda looks like its a case of buying a replacement piece.

However, failing that I would recommend a good strong epoxy resin (superglue is only shite) or you could try plastic welding it with a soldering iron.

seamus

Cheers. I doubt if I'll be able to source a replacement catch, though I'll pop down to a hardware and see if I can find something remotely suitable.

I'm not sure about gluing or "welding" it at all. There's a lot of pressure on the catch when the door is being opened as you have to pull down on it, so I don't think any kind of repair will hold for long.

prospect

Can you give dimensions, width, length and depth of the base.

seamus

This is the trapdoor/ladder:

http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10151&partNumber=752997&Trail=searchtext%3ELOFT&c_1=1|category_root|Building+and+Hardware|16849207

Although that link says the depth is 31cm, that's the depth of the whole unit with the ladder folded up. The actual depth of the wood frame is closer to 15cm.

seamus

Found the manufacturer's website so I've fired off an email. This could be easier than I thought

Buford T Justice

Plastic weld and epoxy? If you do tackle it this way then don't be afraid to add more plastic into the mix to reinforce the soldering. Heat guns work very well for this to. I did a job on a bumper of a car one... turned out ok

Failing all of this, maybe a metalworker could make up a metal bracket of similar dimensions? If so, it may be worth replacing the other one of those brackets at the same time.

DublinDilbert

I had a similar issue with a plastic catch on an attic trap door, ended up making up a replacement piece from a metal bracket I had in the garage.

Just get a small right angle bracket from a hardware, then trim down one side so its comes out roughly the same distance as the existing plastic piece. Make sure to file off any sharp edges, don't want to leave something dangerous.

prospect

prospect wrote: »

Can you give dimensions, width, length and depth of the base.

seamus wrote: »

This is the trapdoor/ladder:

http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10151&partNumber=752997&Trail=searchtext%3ELOFT&c_1=1|category_root|Building+and+Hardware|16849207

Although that link says the depth is 31cm, that's the depth of the whole unit with the ladder folded up. The actual depth of the wood frame is closer to 15cm.

Sorry, I meant the dimensions of the plastic bracket.
We have similar in our stores (although not for the same purpose) so if you gave me the dimensions I could check if there is a match.

seamus

It's at home, so I'd be guessing. Probably about 5cm high, 2.5cm wide and 8-10mm deep.

seamus

When I got off my arse and got in touch with ABRU about this, they shipped one out to me FOC and I had it a couple of days later.

Fair dues!

AckwelFoley

seamus wrote: »

When I got off my arse and got in touch with ABRU about this, they shipped one out to me FOC and I had it a couple of days later.

Fair dues!

Yea, fair play to them!

dnme

How do I replace this catch?