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 next-door neighbors track tropical waves, the pre-storm rush to stockpile, and the routine of transporting ladders to mount panels. After twenty years specifying, setting up, and repairing building envelopes from Secret Largo to Palm Beach, I've seen what holds up and what doesn't. When the objective is real protection with year-round convenience, Miami-Dade authorized, energy‑efficient effect windows outshine shutters in ways that go beyond storm day. They alter how a house feels in August, how peaceful your living-room remains on a Saturday night, and how positive you are when a storm line spins up faster than predicted.
This is a practical look at why many South Florida homeowners are moving from shutters to cyclone impact-resistant windows, how to read the standards behind "Miami-Dade approved," what products matter, and how to get the installation right the very first time.
Miami-Dade County's Item Control Division sets one of the hardest criteria in the country for building components exposed to windborne particles. Approval is not a marketing sticker label. It impact windows installation Boca Raton is earned through particular lab tests that simulate real hurricane conditions.
First comes big rocket effect. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at the glass at roughly 34 miles per hour. That mimics roof tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the impact, the same unit faces cyclic pressure loading, thousands of pressurization and depressurization cycles that imitate rapid wind gusts over hours. If the glass remains in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The difference in between "satisfies Florida building code windows" and "Miami-Dade approved windows" typically lives in these test thresholds. Miami-Dade is just stiffer, especially in High Speed Typhoon Zone requirements, that include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind rankings vary by opening size and design pressures, represented as PSF worths. On ocean-facing homes or high-rises, I often specify systems rated at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more protected exposures, ratings in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can be enough, but you size and specification based upon the site's wind map, developing height, and surrounding structures. An expert knows that a corner exposure at the second story needs different reinforcement than a sheltered window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs impact windows is not a one-to-one contrast. Shutters can fulfill code, and they're much better than nothing. However they ask you to do operate at the worst possible time. When a watch turns to a caution and the forecast track tightens, the last thing you want is a ladder, a dead cordless drill, and a missing wing nut.
Impact windows reside in place. You get constant protection, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on United States 1. You also get advantages every day of the year.
Noise control is the most underappreciated advantage. Laminated impact glass is essentially a sandwich: 2 panes of glass bonded by a resilient interlayer, usually PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps noise. On jobs along busy corridors like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight paths, I've determined interior noise drops in the 5 to 10 decibel variety, sometimes more when coupled with insulated glass units.
Security improves since laminated glass resists required entry. A robber can shatter the external lite with a hammer, however the interlayer holds the shards. They satisfy a sticky, stubborn membrane instead of a fast course inside. Insurance coverage underwriters understand this, which is why policies typically offer credits for impact windows and doors. In my tasks, premiums generally drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the provider and how many openings are protected.
Energy efficiency is the 3rd pillar. Energy-efficient impact windows with modern low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while protecting visible light. That means less cooling demand, particularly on west and south direct exposures where the afternoon sun punishes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we changed 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E impact units. Summer afternoon peak load stopped by approximately a lots of cooling, and the home's yearly electrical energy use fell in between 12 and 18 percent. Results differ with shading, attic insulation, and a/c effectiveness, but the direction is consistent.
Laminated impact glass is the heart of the system, but not all laminated items are equal.
Most property typhoon windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, frequently 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or multiple plies. Thicker interlayers enhance effect resistance and sound control, but they include weight and cost. For oceanfront or tall openings, you may see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, enabling thinner areas to accomplish greater style pressures. For noise-sensitive websites, acoustic PVB formulas modify the polymer to much better soak up noise in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz variety, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows turn up frequently in discussions due to the fact that tempered glass is stronger in bending than annealed glass. That holds true, and tempered lites are commonly used as the outer or inner ply in an impact system. But tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the hurricane sense. When it stops working, it blows up into little cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening vulnerable. The impact performance originates from laminated building, not tempering by itself. Numerous systems use a tempered external lite laminated to an annealed inner lite, or both tempered, however always bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E coverings matter for convenience. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida typically 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, especially in larger openings. The sweet spot depends on your façade orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I often tighten up SHGC and accept a minor tint to manage early morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I favor greater visible transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames control here because they manage large openings and will not swell. Thermal breaks and enhanced glazing gaskets have actually narrowed the energy space with vinyl. High-quality vinyl effect frames, when strengthened effectively, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have much better insulating worths, but I prevent them for extremely wide sliders or tall storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look gorgeous in older Mediterranean Revival homes, however they require mindful maintenance and smart flashing. The Florida sun destroys cheap vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum surfaces quickly. Search for powder-coated surfaces rated for seaside exposure, and demand written guarantee information in salt-air environments.
Window installation can make or break efficiency. An expensive system set up like a best window installation options Boca Raton handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's tension test. The load path is the core. Effect forces need to travel from the glass through the frame, to the anchors, into the substrate, and after that into the structure's framing or masonry.
In cinder block building and construction, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong material. Hollow cells must be grouted or you require to hit the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to take place. In wood-framed houses, structural screws must bite into strong trimmers, not just sheathing. Shimming and plumb positioning matter so the locks engage easily and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not just visual. An appropriately sized backer rod and high-quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant produce a durable, flexible seal that deals with thermal expansion. Too small a bead and it tears under movement. Too big and it treatments badly. On seaside jobs, I never ever match different metals without a barrier, and I always specify corrosion-resistant fasteners. 10 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 combination with the water-resistive barrier are important. If you count on sealant alone, water will discover its method. That moisture might disappoint up as a drip. It may rot a sill plate slowly, then betray itself as a buckling floor or a moldy odor two hurricane seasons later.
I have nothing against well-designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are kept and lubricated, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even detachable panels kept thoroughly can secure homes successfully. They likewise assist in specific cases.
Second homes or seasonal leasings where spending plan is tight sometimes lean on shutters to fulfill the Florida building code windows requirement for protected openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is seldom used in summer season, a clean motorized roll-down can be sensible, particularly if pairing with impact doors and windows elsewhere worries the budget. For homeowners who prepare to move within a year, shutters can be a brief bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring trade-offs. They darken the house when released, and they require action at specifically the time you are juggling insurance documents, gas cans, and household logistics. During Typhoon Irma, I viewed a neighbor attempt to install steel panels hours before landfall. The ladder sank in saturated soil, a panel slipped, and we invested the next hour in the immediate care waiting room. He survived with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters also rattle and can vibrate under sustained winds, often loosening up fasteners over time if not maintained.
For long-lasting owners who want to set it and forget it, impact windows provide cyclone proof windows coverage while preserving daylight and view. The benefit grows important once you have actually experienced one storm season with no preparation beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes combat two battles: latent load from humidity and sensible load from direct solar heat gain. Impact glass upgrades can assist both if specified intelligently.
Low-E impact glass uses microscopically thin metallic layers to reflect infrared energy while letting noticeable light through. With the best coating stacks, you can block a large portion of radiant heat and UV. UV blockage in laminated units comes mainly from the interlayer itself, which typically filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, minimizing fading of materials and floor covering. Add the low-E, and you curb the solar heat that drives your air conditioning crazy midafternoon.
I evaluate glass specifications with three numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still helps here by lowering nighttime heat flow and keeping the interior glass temperature closer to room temperature level, which decreases condensation danger. SHGC drives just how much solar heat gets in. VT affects how brilliant the interior feels. Balance is key. Some property owners want the crisp, clear look of higher VT, even if it means accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, because their landscaping and roofing system overhangs already do some shading. Others prefer a more powerful tint for glare control on waterside lots that reflect harsh light.
In useful terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to modern-day low-E laminated double-glazed units can decrease peak solar gains by 30 to half on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored outside surfaces, and an effectively sized variable-speed heating and cooling, and you begin to build resilience. If the grid goes down and you switch to a generator, a lower cooling load suggests a smaller sized generator and less gallons of fuel.

Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance, or NOA, is the document you request. It information the authorized setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures evaluated. It is inadequate to hear "these are Miami-Dade approved windows" in a showroom. Confirm the NOA matches the exact design and options you are buying, including the glazing makeup and hardware. If you are in Broward or Miami-Dade, your permitting workplace will want this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Product Approval system supplies FL numbers that reveal code compliance. In the rest of the state outside the High Speed Cyclone Zone, Florida building regulations windows can depend on Florida Item Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Many top producers bring both. Where budgets enable, I choose NOA products even outside the zone because the screening is stiffer.
NFRC labels deal with energy metrics. They will not tell you impact efficiency, but they reveal U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leakage. Go for air leakage at or below 0.3 cfm/ft ². Tighter is better for humidity control, but ensure your home still has balanced ventilation. Sealing the envelope and neglecting fresh air is a recipe for indoor air quality complaints.
Impact windows cost more upfront than shutters. There's no spin around that. Installed expenses vary with size, shape, surface, and gain access to. On simple single-family homes, per-opening costs often land between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for standard sizes. Large multi-panel sliders, customized arches, and coastal-grade finishes raise the numbers quickly.

Where you recoup worth:
If you prepare to own the residential or commercial property for 5 years or more, the mathematics frequently tilts in favor of impact windows, particularly when you factor the intangible of peace of mind. If you prepare to sell within a year and need to reveal compliance quickly, shutters may make more short-term sense. Context matters.

I focus on hardware and accessories. Multi-point locks on casements and awnings enhance seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless housings move smoother and last longer on sandy patio areas. Look at the sill design on sliding doors. Weep systems ought to be engineered to drain pipes heavy rains without letting wind-driven water blow back in. Ask to see a cutaway sample in the showroom.
Tint colors and reflectivity are more than fashion. Reflective movies can contravene of neighborhood associations or produce mirror-like glare toward surrounding residential or commercial properties. In seaside environments, highly reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Local pros know which finishes balance efficiency with compliance.
Color stability is a big deal. Dark bronze or black frames look wonderful on contemporary homes, however in Florida sun low-cost finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coatings provide the best color retention and chalk resistance. I specify them for seaside direct exposures whenever spending plans allow.
Historic districts often 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 evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a professional knowledgeable about these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations in some cases specify a narrow list of authorized products for uniformity. They also appreciate noise control between units. If your building sits straight on Collins Opportunity or deals with a hectic beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated choices. Deal with structure management on staging and lift access. Weekend work windows and limited parking can add days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, require special attention in design pressure, deflection, and operating hardware. Not every system that looks sturdy in a showroom fulfills the wind loads on a ninth-floor balcony. Do not rely on brochure optimum sizes. Use the NOA tables that correspond to your website's zone, positive and negative pressures, and mullion mixes if any.
The finest jobs begin with a determined study and exposure analysis. You map each opening, note the substrate, and identify any framing irregularities or settlement cracks. Throughout proposal, the specialist reveals you the NOA and the Florida Product Approval, notes anchor types, and explains how each opening will be flashed and sealed. They prepare for stucco or drywall repair work, not pretend no damage will occur.
On install day, they get rid of one opening at a time to keep your house secure. They safeguard floors, draw back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames come out with care to protect interior finishes. New units get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The team checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photo anchors for the license file, specifically if they will be concealed. After glazing, they water-test with a controlled spray to validate drain paths and seals. The inspector sees a cool jobsite, clear labels, and documentation in order.
Six months later, your windows still close with 2 fingers, locks bite efficiently, and there is no secret rattle throughout thunderstorms. You did not have to call for a roller change after the very first week. That is the standard.
Impact rating does not equivalent breakproof. Laminated glass can crack under severe impacts, however it needs to remain in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends out debris into the glass, you professional window installation in Boca Raton may see star cracks or spidering. The window did its task. Replace the sash or IGU after the event.
Window movies do not convert non-impact windows into cyclone impact-resistant windows. They can include shatter resistance, however they do not alternative to an evaluated, anchored system. Your insurance company and structure department will not count movies as safeguarded openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient impact windows minimize air leak. That's terrific, however it increases the value of a correctly sized HVAC with great dehumidification. If your system is large, the thermostat pleases rapidly and stops working to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your a/c pro to check reasonable heat ratio, airflow, and run time. You want steady, longer cycles, not short bursts.
Maintenance is straightforward but not optional. Tidy weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and oil hardware yearly with a silicone-based item that will not gum up in heat. Small routines extend lifespan.
There are legitimate factors to mix options. A set of seldom used garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave spending plan. A deep-set deck with minimal sun direct exposure may do great with accordion shutters if you prioritize other upgrades like a brand-new roof deck accessory or a fortified garage door. Shutters can also safeguard outside cooking areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age elegant hardware prematurely.
If you select shutters, invest in quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with manual overrides for roll-downs make a distinction. Designate duty for deployment and practice when beyond a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you need 32 wing nuts is not the early morning you want to discover you have 29.
Impact windows are not just about enduring the huge one. They improve daily living. The living room stays cooler and quieter. The a/c cycles calmly rather of racing at 4 p.m. You sleep without freight trains of wind sound when a squall line passes at 2 a.m. When a hurricane threatens, your preparation list gets much shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and concentrate on individuals instead of panels.
For much of my clients, that intangible is the deciding factor. They know storms will come. They likewise understand life in South Florida is too good to live inside a fortress that only gets up in August. Miami-Dade authorized windows give you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February early morning and quiet confidence when the spaghetti models point our way in September.
If you are weighing the choice, begin with a site-specific assessment. Match your exposures to develop pressures, select the right laminated glass stack for wind and heat, select frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and employ a team that appreciates the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient impact windows deliver what shutters can not: defense that never ever requests for a ladder and a better home every day of the year.