STS Impact Windows, Doors & Roofing is a veteran-owned company based in South Florida that specializes in premium hurricane protection solutions, including impact windows, doors, custom storefronts, and roofing. Combining over 25 years of industry experience with military precision, STS provides expert installation, full transparency, and outstanding customer service, backed by a leading 3-year installation warranty. Their comprehensive services ensure security and peace of mind for both residential and commercial clients, with a strong focus on quality, reliability, and efficiency.
View on Google MapsSTS Impact Windows and Doors specializes in hurricane protection solutions, offering high-quality impact windows, storm-resistant doors, custom storefronts, and professional roofing services. With expert installation, full transparency, and outstanding customer service, the company ensures homes and businesses stay secure and energy-efficient.
STS Impact Windows and Doors is located at 1000 Holland Dr Suite 10, Boca Raton, FL 33487, United States. The company proudly serves residential and commercial clients across Florida and throughout the United States, delivering reliable storm protection solutions. View their location on Google Maps.
Yes, STS Impact Windows and Doors is a veteran-owned company recognized for its dedication, integrity, and service to the community. This background adds an extra level of trust and reliability for homeowners and businesses seeking storm protection solutions.
STS Impact Windows and Doors provides a wide range of services including the installation of hurricane impact windows, impact doors, custom commercial storefronts, and roofing services. Each project is backed by expert craftsmanship, a 3-year installation warranty, and over 25 years of industry experience.
The company proudly serves both residential homeowners and commercial property owners. From protecting family homes to fortifying businesses with hurricane-rated storefronts, STS Impact Windows and Doors delivers customized solutions that ensure safety, durability, and efficiency.
Clients benefit from the company’s focus on quality, reliability, and efficiency. Their impact-resistant windows and doors not only enhance security and hurricane protection but also improve energy efficiency, reduce noise, and increase property value. With a 3-year installation warranty, customers can trust in long-term performance and peace of mind.
STS Impact Windows and Doors has been recognized with multiple industry honors, including the South Florida Veteran Owned Business Excellence Award, Best Hurricane Protection Provider 2023 Florida, and the Angi’s Super Service Award for Window Installation. These awards highlight their commitment to excellence, customer satisfaction, and industry leadership.
You can reach STS Impact Windows and Doors by phone at 561-600-1018 or visit their website at stswindows.com. They are open Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm and are available on Facebook and Instagram for updates and project showcases.
Business Name: STS Impact Windows & Doors
Address: 1000 Holland Dr #10, Boca Raton, FL 33487, United States
Phone: (561)-600-1018
Hurricane season shapes life along Florida's coasts. You feel it in the way neighbors track tropical waves, the pre-storm rush to stockpile, and the ritual of hauling ladders to install panels. After two decades specifying, setting up, and troubleshooting structure envelopes from Key Largo to Palm Beach, I've seen what holds up and what does not. When the objective is real defense with year-round comfort, Miami-Dade authorized, energy‑efficient impact windows outperform shutters in ways that exceed storm day. They alter how a house feels in August, how quiet your living-room stays on a Saturday night, and how confident you are when a storm line spins up faster than predicted.
This is a useful look at why many South Florida homeowners are moving from shutters to hurricane impact-resistant windows, how to read the requirements behind "Miami-Dade approved," what materials matter, and how to get the installation right the very first time.
Miami-Dade County's Item Control Division sets one of the hardest benchmarks in the nation for building elements exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is earned through specific laboratory tests that simulate genuine cyclone conditions.
First comes large missile effect. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at the glass at approximately 34 miles per hour. That simulates roofing tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the effect, the very same unit faces cyclic pressure loading, thousands of pressurization and depressurization cycles that simulate rapid wind gusts over hours. If the glass remains in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The distinction in between "satisfies Florida building regulations windows" and "Miami-Dade authorized windows" typically lives in these test thresholds. Miami-Dade is merely stiffer, particularly in High Speed Cyclone Zone requirements, which include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind scores differ by opening size and style pressures, denoted as PSF worths. On ocean-facing residential or commercial properties or high-rises, I often specify units ranked at +60/ -80 Vinyl impact windows PSF or greater. Inland or in more protected exposures, rankings in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can be enough, but you size and specification based upon the site's wind map, building height, and surrounding structures. An expert understands that a corner exposure at the 2nd story demands different reinforcement than a protected window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs impact windows is not a one-to-one contrast. Shutters can fulfill code, and they're better than nothing. But they ask you to do operate at the worst possible time. When a watch turns to a caution and the forecast track tightens up, the last thing you want is a ladder, a dead cordless drill, and a missing wing nut.
Impact windows live in place. You get constant security, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on United States 1. You likewise get benefits every day of the year.
Noise control is the most underappreciated advantage. Laminated impact glass is basically a sandwich: two panes of glass bonded by a durable interlayer, normally PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps noise. On tasks along hectic corridors like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight courses, I have actually measured interior noise drops in the 5 to 10 decibel range, sometimes more when coupled with insulated glass units.
Security enhances since laminated glass resists forced entry. A robber can shatter the outer lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the shards. They satisfy a sticky, persistent membrane instead of a fast path inside. Insurance underwriters know this, which is why policies typically provide credits for effect doors and windows. In my projects, premiums typically drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the provider and how many openings are protected.
Energy efficiency is the third pillar. Energy-efficient impact windows with modern-day low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while maintaining visible light. That suggests less air conditioning demand, especially on west and south direct exposures where the afternoon sun penalizes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we changed 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E effect units. Summer afternoon peak load visited approximately a lots of cooling, and the home's annual electricity use fell between 12 and 18 percent. Results vary with shading, attic insulation, and heating and cooling effectiveness, however the direction is consistent.
Laminated impact glass is the heart of the system, but not all laminated items are equal.
Most domestic typhoon windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, commonly 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or numerous plies. Thicker interlayers enhance effect resistance and sound control, however they include weight and expense. For oceanfront or high openings, you may see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, allowing thinner areas to achieve greater design pressures. For noise-sensitive sites, acoustic PVB solutions fine-tune the polymer to better absorb noise in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz range, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows turn up frequently in discussions since tempered glass is more powerful in flexing than annealed glass. That holds true, and tempered lites are commonly used as the external or inner ply in an impact system. But tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the typhoon sense. When it stops working, it explodes into little cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening susceptible. The impact performance comes from laminated building, not tempering by itself. Numerous systems use a tempered external lite laminated to a hardened inner lite, or both tempered, but constantly bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E coatings matter for comfort. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida normally targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 variety while keeping visible light transmission around half or higher. Go too low on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, specifically in bigger openings. The sweet area depends on your exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I frequently tighten up SHGC and accept a slight tint to handle early morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I favor higher noticeable transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames dominate here because they manage large openings and won't swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have actually narrowed the energy space with vinyl. Top quality vinyl effect frames, when enhanced effectively, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have better insulating values, however I prevent them for very broad sliders or high storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad systems look stunning in older Mediterranean Revival homes, however they demand careful upkeep and wise flashing. The Florida sun ruins cheap vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum finishes quickly. Try to find powder-coated surfaces rated for coastal direct exposure, and demand composed service warranty information in salt-air environments.
Window setup can make or break performance. An expensive system set up like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's tension test. The load course is the crux. Effect forces need to take a trip from the glass through the frame, to the anchors, into the substrate, and after that into the structure's framing or masonry.
In concrete block construction, you desire stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into solid material. Hollow cells need to be grouted or you require to strike the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to take place. In wood-framed homes, structural screws must bite into strong trimmers, not just sheathing. Shimming and plumb alignment matter so the locks engage easily and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not just visual. A correctly sized backer rod and top quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant create a resilient, versatile seal that handles thermal expansion. Too small a bead and it tears under motion. Too huge and it cures poorly. On coastal tasks, I never combine different metals without a barrier, and I always specify corrosion-resistant fasteners. Ten years later, you will see who took shortcuts.
Flashing is the other non-negotiable. Pan flashing at sills, self-adhered membranes at jambs and heads, and integration with the water-resistive barrier are crucial. If you count on sealant alone, water will discover its way in. That wetness might disappoint up as a drip. It might rot a sill plate gradually, then betray itself as a buckling flooring or a musty smell two hurricane seasons later.
I have absolutely nothing versus well-designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are preserved and oiled, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even detachable panels kept thoroughly can safeguard homes effectively. They likewise help in particular cases.
Second homes or seasonal rentals where spending plan is tight in some cases lean on shutters to meet the Florida building regulations windows requirement for protected openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is rarely used in summer, a clean motorized roll-down can be reasonable, especially if coupling with impact windows and doors in other places stresses the budget. For homeowners who plan to move within a year, shutters can be a brief bridge to compliance before a sale.
![]()
But shutters bring trade-offs. They darken your home when deployed, and they need action at specifically the time you are juggling insurance coverage documents, gas cans, and family logistics. Throughout Typhoon Irma, I saw a next-door neighbor attempt to mount steel panels hours before landfall. The ladder sank in saturated soil, a panel slipped, and we spent the next hour in the urgent care waiting space. He made it through with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters likewise rattle and can vibrate under sustained winds, sometimes loosening fasteners gradually if not maintained.
For long-term owners who want to set it and forget it, effect windows give cyclone proof windows coverage while protecting daytime and view. The benefit grows important once you have actually experienced one storm season with no prep beyond locking the sash.
![]()
South Florida homes battle two battles: hidden load from humidity and practical load from direct solar heat gain. Impact glass upgrades can assist both if defined intelligently.
Low-E effect glass uses microscopically thin metallic layers to show infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the right finishing stacks, you can block a large portion of convected heat and UV. UV obstruction in laminated systems comes largely from the interlayer itself, which usually filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, minimizing fading of materials and flooring. Add the low-E, and you curb the solar heat that drives your a/c insane midafternoon.
I examine glass specifications with three numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still helps here by decreasing nighttime heat flow and keeping the interior glass temperature closer to space temperature, which reduces condensation risk. SHGC drives just how much solar heat gets in. VT affects how intense the interior feels. Balance is crucial. Some house owners desire the crisp, clear appearance of higher VT, even if it means accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, because their landscaping and roofing overhangs already do some shading. Others prefer a stronger tint for glare control on waterside lots that reflect severe light.
In useful terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to contemporary low-E laminated double-glazed systems can lower peak solar gains by 30 to half on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored exterior finishes, and a properly sized variable-speed heating and cooling, and you start to develop strength. If the grid goes down and you change to a generator, a lower cooling load means a smaller generator and less gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notification of Acceptance, or NOA, is the file you ask for. It information the approved configurations, sizes, anchors, and pressures tested. It is inadequate to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" in a display room. Validate the NOA matches the specific design and options you are buying, consisting of the glazing makeup and hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your allowing workplace will desire this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Item Approval system offers FL numbers that reveal code compliance. In the rest of the state outside the High Velocity Cyclone Zone, Florida building code windows can count on Florida Product Approval without Miami-Dade particular NOAs. Numerous top producers carry both. Where budgets allow, I choose NOA items even outside the zone because the testing is stiffer.
NFRC labels handle energy metrics. They won't inform you impact performance, however they show U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leak. Aim for air leakage at or below 0.3 cfm/ft ². Tighter is much better for humidity control, however make sure your home still has balanced ventilation. Sealing the envelope and disregarding fresh air is a dish for indoor air quality complaints.
Impact windows cost more upfront than shutters. There's no spin around that. Installed costs differ with size, shape, finish, and access. On straightforward single-family homes, per-opening costs typically land between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for standard sizes. Big multi-panel sliders, customized arches, and coastal-grade surfaces raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recover value:
If you plan to own the home for 5 years or more, the math frequently tilts in favor of effect windows, particularly when you factor the intangible of comfort. If you prepare to offer within a year and require to show compliance rapidly, shutters might make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I pay attention to hardware and accessories. Multi-point locks on sashes and awnings improve seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless housings glide smoother and last longer on sandy outdoor patios. Take a look at the sill design on moving doors. Weep systems should be crafted to drain heavy rainfall without letting wind-driven water blow back in. Ask to see a cutaway sample in the showroom.
Tint colors and reflectivity are more than style. Reflective films can run afoul of neighborhood associations or produce mirror-like glare towards neighboring residential or commercial properties. In coastal communities, extremely reflective glass can puzzle birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Regional pros know which finishes balance efficiency with compliance.
Color stability is a big deal. Dark bronze or black frames look wonderful on modern-day homes, but in Florida sun cheap surfaces chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated finishings provide the best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for coastal direct exposures whenever budget plans allow.
Historic districts frequently need profiles that imitate old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, but lead times lengthen and costs climb. Anticipate additional review by architectural boards, and line up a contractor acquainted with these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations often specify a narrow list of approved products for uniformity. They likewise appreciate FBC window requirements noise control between systems. If your building sits directly on Collins Avenue or faces a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated options. Deal with structure management on staging and lift access. Weekend work windows and minimal parking can add days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, require special attention in style pressure, deflection, and running hardware. Not every unit that looks sturdy in a showroom meets the wind loads on a ninth-floor balcony. Do not rely on brochure optimum hurricane window installation sizes. Use the NOA tables that correspond to your site's zone, favorable and negative pressures, and mullion mixes if any.
The best tasks begin with a measured survey and direct exposure analysis. You map each opening, note the substrate, and recognize any framing irregularities or settlement cracks. Throughout proposition, the specialist reveals you the NOA and the Florida Item Approval, notes anchor types, and describes how each opening will be flashed and sealed. They prepare for stucco or drywall repairs, not pretend no damage will occur.
On set up day, they eliminate one opening at a time to keep the house protected. They protect floors, pull back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames bring out care to preserve interior surfaces. New systems get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The crew checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photograph anchors for the license file, especially if they will be hidden. After glazing, they water-test with a controlled spray to validate drainage courses and seals. The inspector sees a neat jobsite, clear labels, and documentation in order.
Six months later on, your windows still close with two fingers, locks bite smoothly, and there is no mystery rattle throughout thunderstorms. You did not have to call for a roller change after the first week. That is the standard.
Impact ranking does not equivalent breakproof. Laminated glass can crack under extreme effects, but it needs to stay in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends debris into the glass, you may see star fractures or spidering. The window did its task. Replace the sash or IGU after the event.
Window films do not convert non-impact windows into hurricane impact-resistant windows. They can add shatter resistance, however they do not replacement for a checked, anchored system. Your insurance provider and structure department will not count movies as secured openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient effect windows decrease air leakage. That's fantastic, however it increases the value of an appropriately sized heating and cooling with excellent dehumidification. If your system is extra-large, the thermostat pleases quickly and fails to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your a/c pro to examine practical heat ratio, air flow, and run time. You desire consistent, longer cycles, not short bursts.
Maintenance is simple however not optional. Tidy weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lubricate hardware yearly with a silicone-based item that will not gum up in heat. Little habits extend lifespan.
There are genuine reasons to mix options. A set of seldom used garage windows can keep removable panels to shave budget plan. A deep-set deck with minimal sun direct exposure might do great with accordion shutters if you prioritize other upgrades like a brand-new roofing deck attachment or a fortified garage door. Shutters can likewise protect outside kitchens or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age elegant hardware prematurely.
If you pick shutters, purchase quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with manual overrides for roll-downs make a difference. Assign responsibility for implementation and practice as soon as outside of a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you need 32 wing nuts is not the early morning you wish to discover you have 29.
Impact windows are not only about surviving the huge one. They reshape daily living. The living-room stays cooler and quieter. The a/c cycles calmly instead of racing at 4 p.m. You sleep without freight trains of wind noise when a squall line passes at 2 a.m. When a cyclone threatens, your preparation list gets shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and focus on individuals instead of panels.

For a number of my customers, that intangible is the choosing aspect. They know storms will come. They likewise understand life in South Florida is too excellent to live inside a fortress that just gets up in August. Miami-Dade authorized windows give you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February early morning and peaceful confidence when the spaghetti designs point our method September.
If you are weighing the option, begin with a site-specific evaluation. Match your exposures to design pressures, choose the right laminated glass stack for wind and heat, select frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and hire a team that appreciates the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient impact windows deliver what shutters can not: security that never ever asks for a ladder and a much better home every day of the year.