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 method neighbors track tropical waves, the pre-storm rush to stock up, and the ritual of transporting ladders to mount panels. After two decades specifying, installing, and repairing building envelopes from Secret Largo to Palm Beach, I have actually seen what holds up and what does not. When the objective is genuine protection with year-round convenience, Miami-Dade authorized, energy‑efficient effect windows outshine shutters in ways that surpass storm day. They alter how a house feels in August, how peaceful your living-room stays on a Saturday night, and how confident you are when a storm line spins up much faster than predicted.
This is a useful look at why lots of South Florida house owners are moving from shutters to hurricane impact-resistant windows, how to check out the requirements behind "Miami-Dade authorized," what materials matter, and how to get the installation right the first time.
Miami-Dade County's Product Control Division sets among the most difficult benchmarks in the nation for constructing elements exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is made through specific laboratory tests that simulate real cyclone conditions.
First comes big rocket effect. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at the glass at roughly 34 miles per hour. That mimics roofing system tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the effect, the same system faces cyclic pressure loading, thousands of pressurization and depressurization cycles that mimic quick wind gusts over hours. If the glass remains in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The difference in between "meets Florida building code windows" and "Miami-Dade authorized windows" often resides in these test thresholds. Miami-Dade is simply stiffer, especially in High Velocity Cyclone Zone requirements, that include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind scores differ by opening size and style pressures, signified as PSF worths. On ocean-facing residential or commercial properties or high-rises, I typically define systems rated at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more safeguarded direct exposures, rankings in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can suffice, however you size and specification based on the site's wind map, constructing height, and surrounding structures. An expert understands that a corner direct exposure at the 2nd story demands various reinforcement than a sheltered window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs effect windows is not a one-to-one contrast. Shutters can satisfy code, and they're much better than absolutely nothing. However they ask you to do operate at the worst possible time. When a watch turns to a warning and the projection track tightens up, the last thing you desire is a ladder, a dead cordless drill, and a missing wing nut.
Impact windows reside in location. You get continuous defense, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on United States 1. You likewise get advantages every day of the year.
Noise control is the most underappreciated advantage. Laminated effect glass is basically a sandwich: 2 panes of glass bonded by a resistant interlayer, generally PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps sound. On tasks along hectic passages like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight paths, I've determined interior sound drops in the 5 to 10 decibel variety, in some cases more when paired with insulated glass units.
Security improves due to the fact that laminated glass withstands required entry. A robber can shatter the outer lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the shards. They satisfy a sticky, stubborn membrane rather of a quick course inside. Insurance coverage underwriters understand this, which is why policies often use credits for impact windows and doors. In my projects, premiums typically drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the carrier and how many openings are protected.

Energy performance is the 3rd pillar. Energy-efficient effect windows with contemporary low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while protecting visible light. That indicates less a/c 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 season afternoon peak load dropped by roughly a lots of cooling, and the home's annual electrical energy use fell between 12 and 18 percent. Outcomes vary with shading, attic insulation, and HVAC efficiency, however the instructions is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, however not all laminated items Design Pressure (DP) ratings are equal.
Most domestic typhoon windows utilize a PVB interlayer glass stack, commonly 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or several plies. Thicker interlayers improve impact resistance and sound control, however they add weight and cost. For oceanfront or high openings, you may see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, permitting thinner areas to attain greater design pressures. For noise-sensitive websites, acoustic PVB solutions tweak 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 since tempered glass is more powerful in bending than annealed glass. That's true, and tempered lites are commonly used as the external or inner ply in an impact unit. But tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the cyclone sense. When it fails, it explodes into small cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening vulnerable. The impact efficiency comes from laminated building, not tempering by itself. Many systems utilize a tempered external lite laminated to a hardened inner lite, or both tempered, but constantly bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E coverings matter for comfort. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida usually targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 variety while keeping noticeable light transmission around 50 percent or greater. Go too low on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, particularly in larger openings. The sweet spot depends on your exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I often tighten up SHGC and accept a minor tint to manage morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I favor greater noticeable transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames control here due to the fact that they deal with big openings and will not swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have actually narrowed the energy gap with vinyl. Top quality vinyl impact frames, when enhanced effectively, can perform well for standard-sized openings and have better insulating worths, however I avoid them for extremely wide sliders or tall storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad systems look lovely in older Mediterranean Revival homes, however they demand careful maintenance and smart flashing. The Florida sun ruins cheap vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum surfaces quickly. Look for powder-coated surfaces rated for coastal direct exposure, and request composed warranty information in salt-air environments.
Window setup can make or break efficiency. A costly unit installed like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's tension test. The load course is the crux. Impact 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 product. Hollow cells should be grouted or you need to strike the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to occur. In wood-framed homes, structural screws must bite into strong trimmers, not just sheathing. Shimming and plumb alignment matter so the locks engage cleanly and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not just visual. An effectively sized backer rod and top quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant produce a long lasting, versatile seal that deals with thermal growth. Too little a bead and it tears under movement. Too huge and it treatments inadequately. On seaside jobs, I never ever combine dissimilar metals without a barrier, and I constantly specify corrosion-resistant fasteners. 10 years later on, 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 find its method. That moisture may not show up as a drip. It may rot a sill plate slowly, then betray itself as a buckling floor or a musty odor two cyclone seasons later.
I have nothing versus well-designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are maintained and lubricated, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even detachable panels kept carefully can safeguard homes successfully. They likewise assist in specific cases.
Second homes or seasonal rentals where budget is tight often lean on shutters to fulfill the Florida building regulations windows requirement for secured openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is hardly ever utilized in summer season, a tidy motorized roll-down can be affordable, particularly if pairing with effect windows and doors in other places stresses the spending plan. For property owners who prepare to move within a year, shutters can be a brief bridge to compliance before a sale.

But shutters bring compromises. They darken your house when released, and they need action at exactly the time you are managing insurance papers, gas cans, and household logistics. Throughout Cyclone Irma, I watched a next-door neighbor try 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 room. He made it through with stitches. His living-room window did not. Shutters also rattle and can vibrate under continual winds, sometimes loosening up fasteners gradually if not maintained.
For long-lasting owners who want to set it and forget it, impact windows provide typhoon proof windows protection while maintaining daytime and view. The convenience grows valuable once you've experienced one storm season with no preparation beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes fight two fights: hidden load from humidity and sensible load from direct solar heat gain. Impact glass upgrades can assist both if defined intelligently.
Low-E impact glass uses microscopically thin metal layers to reflect infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the right finishing stacks, you can block a big portion of convected heat and UV. UV obstruction in laminated units comes mostly from the interlayer itself, which generally filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, minimizing fading of materials and flooring. Add the low-E, and you suppress the solar heat that drives your AC crazy midafternoon.
I evaluate glass specs 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 level closer to space temperature level, which minimizes condensation threat. SHGC drives how much solar heat enters. VT affects how brilliant the interior feels. Balance is essential. Some homeowners want the crisp, clear look of higher VT, even if it implies accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, due to the fact that their landscaping and roofing overhangs currently do some shading. Others choose a stronger tint for glare control on waterfront lots that show extreme light.
In useful terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to contemporary low-E laminated double-glazed units can reduce peak solar gains by 30 to 50 percent on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored outside finishes, and a correctly sized variable-speed heating and cooling, and you start to develop resilience. If the grid decreases and you switch to a generator, a lower cooling load means a smaller generator and fewer gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notice of Approval, or NOA, is the file you request. It details the authorized setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures tested. It is inadequate to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" in a showroom. Verify the NOA matches the precise model and alternatives you are buying, including the glazing makeup and hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your allowing office will desire this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Product Approval system offers FL numbers that show code compliance. In the rest of the state outside the High Velocity Cyclone Zone, Florida building code windows can depend on Florida Item Approval without Miami-Dade particular NOAs. Lots of leading makers 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 won't inform you impact performance, however they reveal U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leakage. Go for air leakage at or below 0.3 cfm/ft TWO. Tighter is better for humidity control, however ensure your home still has actually balanced ventilation. Sealing the envelope and overlooking fresh air is a recipe for indoor air quality complaints.
Impact windows cost more in advance than shutters. There's no spin around that. Installed costs vary with size, shape, finish, and gain access to. On uncomplicated single-family homes, per-opening expenses typically land between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for basic sizes. Large multi-panel sliders, custom-made arches, and coastal-grade finishes raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recoup worth:
If you prepare to own the property for 5 years or more, the math frequently tilts in favor of impact windows, particularly when you factor the intangible of peace of mind. If you prepare to offer within a year and require to reveal compliance quickly, shutters might make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I take notice of hardware and accessories. Multi-point locks tempered glass window cost on casements and awnings improve seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless real estates move smoother and last longer on sandy outdoor patios. Take a look at the sill style on sliding doors. Weep systems need to be engineered 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 fashion. Reflective movies can contravene of neighborhood associations or produce mirror-like glare toward surrounding homes. In coastal communities, extremely reflective glass can puzzle birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Regional pros know which finishings balance efficiency with compliance.
Color stability is a big deal. Dark bronze or black frames look fantastic on modern homes, however in Florida sun cheap finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coverings offer the very best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for coastal 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 extend and costs climb. Anticipate additional review by architectural boards, and line up a contractor familiar with these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations often define a narrow list of authorized items for uniformity. They also care about sound control in between units. If your structure sits directly on Collins Avenue or faces a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated choices. Deal with building management on staging and lift access. Weekend work windows and minimal parking can include 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 display room meets the wind loads on a ninth-floor balcony. Do not depend on brochure maximum sizes. Utilize the NOA tables that correspond to your website's zone, favorable and unfavorable pressures, and mullion combinations if any.
The best jobs begin with a determined survey and exposure analysis. You map each opening, keep in mind the substrate, and determine any framing abnormalities or settlement cracks. Throughout proposal, the contractor shows you the NOA and the Florida Product Approval, lists anchor types, and describes how each opening will be flashed and sealed. They plan for stucco or drywall repairs, not pretend no damage will occur.
On install day, they eliminate one opening at a time to keep your home safe. They protect floors, draw back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames bring out care to maintain interior finishes. New units get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The crew checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photo anchors for the permit file, particularly if they will be hidden. After glazing, they water-test with a regulated spray to validate drainage courses and seals. The inspector sees a neat jobsite, clear labels, and paperwork in order.

Six months later on, your windows still close with two fingers, locks bite smoothly, and there is no mystery rattle during thunderstorms. You did not need to call for a roller change after the very first week. That is the standard.
Impact score does not equal breakproof. Laminated glass can split under severe impacts, however it should remain in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends debris into the glass, you might 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 cyclone impact-resistant windows. They can add shatter resistance, however they do not alternative to a tested, anchored system. Your insurance provider and structure department will not count films as secured openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient impact windows reduce air leakage. That's terrific, however it increases the value of an appropriately sized heating and cooling with great dehumidification. If your system is extra-large, the thermostat pleases quickly and stops working to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your heating and cooling pro to examine sensible heat ratio, air flow, and run time. You desire stable, longer cycles, not brief bursts.
Maintenance is simple but not optional. Clean weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lube hardware yearly with a silicone-based item that will not gum up in heat. Small practices extend lifespan.
There are legitimate reasons to blend options. A set of rarely used garage windows can keep removable panels to shave spending plan. A deep-set porch with minimal sun exposure may do fine with accordion shutters if you focus on other upgrades like a new roofing system deck attachment or a prepared garage door. Shutters can likewise secure outside kitchen areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age expensive hardware prematurely.
If you pick shutters, buy quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with handbook overrides for roll-downs make a difference. Appoint duty for release and practice when beyond a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you require 32 wing nuts is not the morning you wish to discover you have 29.
Impact windows are not only about enduring the big one. They improve daily living. The living room remains cooler and quieter. The a/c cycles calmly instead 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 cyclone threatens, your preparation list gets much shorter. You lock the permitting for impact windows sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and focus on individuals instead of panels.
For many of my clients, that intangible is the deciding aspect. They know storms will come. They also know life in South Florida is too good to live inside a fortress that just awakens in August. Miami-Dade approved windows give you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February early morning and quiet confidence when the spaghetti designs point our way in September.
If you are weighing the option, begin with a site-specific assessment. Match your exposures to design pressures, choose the ideal laminated glass stack for wind and heat, select frames that SGP interlayer fit the architecture and conditions, and work with a team that appreciates the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient impact windows deliver what shutters can not: protection that never ever asks for a ladder and a better home every day of the year.