Latch style grip set lock broken, will not open. Help please

[brae99]

Looking for help please. I have called two locksmiths but as it is a long holiday weekend, no one is around. I have a steel entry door that has a large brass decorative grip set on it... a dead bolt on the top and a thumb operated non-locking latch / deadbolt underneath it. We managed to get into the house yesterday but the lock sounded odd when it closed behind us and it would not let us out. It has been stuck ever since. The upper deadbolt is not the issue, the thumb operated non-locking latch / deadbolt is. We have removed the hinges but there is not enough play in the door to get it to move. The lock set and handle have all been removed as well. The mechanism for the lower thumb latch was of no help when we tried turning it to make the bolt retract. Nothing happened. That part then cracked off and a spring came out.

There is no brand name on the grip set... it came with the door when it was installed about 10 years ago.

Now there are two holes in the door, hinges that won't budge and nothing to grab on to to try to get that latch to release... any ideas?

Thanks so much for any help you can offer.

B Rae

[deception]

Pictures might help. From what I understand from that post was that the latch won't retract.

You should be able to stick a screwdriver or something similar into it, and twist to get the latch to retract though.

[brae99]

Well, brute force did it... the door has been removed and the new lock set is going on momentarily. I had to push the deadbolt into the wood even further so I could get enough movement to get the door off hinges. Thanks for being here to ask for / get help!

B Rae