How to Change the Mortice Latch on a French Swing Patio Door

A mortise latch allows a door to be easily opened and closed with a door handle. Learn how to change the direction of the mortice latch on a Milgard swing-type French Door.

For this project you will need: a Phillips head screwdriver, safety glasses, and gloves.

Warning:  Do not use any power tools to adjust hinges.

To change the direction of the mortise latch, especially if accidentally rotated, first locate the mortise latch.  Open the door panel, locate the strike pin, which is right below the latch, then compress and hold the strike pin.  Then pull the handle up.  You should see the lock activate.  At this point pull the latch out and rotate to the correct position.  Check to make sure the latch is correct by pushing down on the handle to de-activate the lock, then closing the door and rotate the handles up until it stops.  Then rotate the lower thumb turn to activate lock.  To unlock the Milgard French door, first rotate the lower thumb turn to unlock.  Then rotate the handle down fully to disengage all locking parts.