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 ritual of transporting ladders to install panels. After 20 years specifying, installing, and troubleshooting structure envelopes from Secret Largo to Palm Beach, I have actually seen what holds up and what does not. When the goal is genuine defense with year-round comfort, Miami-Dade approved, energy‑efficient effect windows exceed shutters in manner ins which exceed storm day. They alter how a house feels in August, how quiet your living room stays on a Saturday night, and how positive you are when a storm line spins up much faster than predicted.
This is a useful look at why lots of South Florida property owners are moving from shutters to cyclone impact-resistant windows, how to check out the standards behind "Miami-Dade authorized," what products matter, and how to get the installation right the very first time.
Miami-Dade County's Product Control Department sets among the toughest benchmarks in the country for constructing components exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker label. It is earned through particular lab tests that mimic real typhoon conditions.
First comes large rocket impact. A 9-pound 2x4 is contended the glass at roughly 34 miles per hour. That simulates roofing system tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the impact, the very same unit deals with cyclic pressure loading, thousands of pressurization and depressurization cycles that simulate rapid wind gusts over hours. If the glass stays in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The distinction in between "fulfills Florida building regulations windows" and "Miami-Dade approved windows" typically lives in these test limits. Miami-Dade is just stiffer, particularly in High Velocity Hurricane Zone requirements, which include Miami-Dade and Broward.

Wind rankings vary by opening size and style pressures, signified as PSF worths. On ocean-facing properties or high-rises, I typically specify units rated at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more safeguarded exposures, ratings in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can be adequate, but you size and specification based on the site's wind map, constructing height, and surrounding structures. An expert knows that a corner exposure at the 2nd story needs different support than a sheltered window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs effect windows is not a one-to-one comparison. Shutters can fulfill code, and they're much better than absolutely nothing. But they ask you to do operate at the worst possible time. When a watch turns to a warning 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 reside in location. 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 benefit. Laminated effect 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 busy corridors like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight paths, I've measured interior sound drops in the 5 to 10 decibel range, often more when coupled with insulated glass units.
Security enhances since laminated glass withstands required entry. A robber can shatter the outer lite with a hammer, however the interlayer holds the shards. They satisfy a sticky, stubborn membrane rather of a fast course inside. Insurance underwriters know this, which is why policies frequently use credits for impact doors and windows. In my jobs, premiums normally drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the provider and the number of openings are protected.
Energy efficiency is the third pillar. Energy-efficient impact windows with modern low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while maintaining visible light. That means less cooling demand, particularly 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 impact units. Summer afternoon peak load visited roughly a lots of cooling, and the home's yearly electricity usage fell between 12 and 18 percent. Outcomes vary with shading, attic insulation, and heating and cooling performance, however the direction is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, but not all laminated products are equal.
Most residential typhoon windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, frequently 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or multiple plies. Thicker interlayers improve impact resistance and sound control, however they include weight and expense. For oceanfront or tall openings, you may see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and more powerful than PVB, allowing thinner areas to accomplish higher design pressures. For noise-sensitive sites, acoustic PVB solutions modify the polymer to much better absorb sound in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz range, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows come up typically in conversations because tempered glass is more powerful in flexing than annealed glass. That's true, and tempered lites are frequently utilized as the outer or inner ply in an impact system. However tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the cyclone sense. When it stops working, it blows up into small cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening susceptible. The impact performance originates from laminated building and construction, not tempering by itself. Lots of systems utilize a tempered outer lite laminated to a hardened inner lite, or both tempered, but always bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E finishings matter for comfort. 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 50 percent or higher. Go too low on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, specifically in bigger openings. The sweet spot depends on your exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I frequently tighten SHGC and accept a small tint to manage morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I lean toward higher noticeable transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames control here due to the fact that they handle large openings and won't swell. Thermal breaks and enhanced glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy gap with vinyl. Premium vinyl effect frames, when strengthened correctly, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have better insulating worths, but I prevent them for very wide sliders or tall storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad systems look beautiful in older Mediterranean Revival homes, however they demand careful upkeep and clever flashing. The Florida sun destroys inexpensive vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum surfaces rapidly. Try to find powder-coated finishes ranked for coastal direct exposure, and request composed service warranty information in salt-air environments.
Window setup can make or break performance. An expensive unit set up like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's stress test. The load path is the core. Impact forces have to take a trip from the glass through the frame, to the anchors, into the substrate, and then into the structure's framing or masonry.
In cinder block construction, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong material. Hollow cells must be grouted or you need to hit the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to happen. In wood-framed houses, structural screws must bite into solid trimmers, not simply sheathing. Shimming and plumb positioning matter so the locks engage easily and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not just aesthetic. An effectively sized backer rod and high-quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant develop a durable, flexible seal that manages thermal expansion. Too little a bead and it tears under motion. Too huge and it remedies inadequately. On seaside jobs, I never ever match dissimilar metals without a barrier, and I always define 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 crucial. If you count on sealant alone, water will discover its method. That wetness might not show up as a drip. It might rot a sill plate gradually, then betray itself as a buckling floor or a musty smell 2 typhoon seasons later.
I have absolutely nothing against well-designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are preserved and lubed, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels kept thoroughly can safeguard homes efficiently. They likewise assist in particular cases.
Second homes or seasonal rentals where budget plan is tight sometimes lean on shutters to meet the Florida building regulations windows requirement for protected openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is seldom used in summer season, a tidy motorized roll-down can be sensible, specifically if pairing with impact windows and doors in other places stresses the budget. For property owners 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 your home when released, and they need action at precisely the time you are juggling insurance coverage documents, gas cans, and family logistics. During Hurricane Irma, I viewed a neighbor try to mount steel panels hours before landfall. The ladder sank in saturated soil, a panel slipped, and we invested the next hour in the urgent care waiting space. He survived with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters likewise rattle and can vibrate under sustained winds, in some cases loosening fasteners in time if not maintained.
For long-term owners who want to set it and forget it, impact windows provide hurricane evidence windows coverage while protecting daytime and view. The convenience grows important once you've experienced one storm season with no preparation beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes fight two fights: latent load from humidity and practical load from direct solar heat gain. Effect glass upgrades can assist both if defined intelligently.
Low-E impact glass uses microscopically thin metallic layers to reflect infrared energy while letting noticeable light through. With the right finishing stacks, you can block a big portion of convected heat and UV. UV clog in laminated systems comes mainly from the interlayer itself, which usually filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, lowering fading of fabrics and floor covering. Include the low-E, and you suppress the solar heat that drives your AC crazy midafternoon.
I examine glass specifications with 3 numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still helps here by minimizing nighttime heat circulation and keeping the interior glass temperature closer to room temperature, which lowers condensation threat. SHGC drives how much solar heat enters. VT affects how brilliant the interior feels. Balance is key. Some property owners desire the crisp, clear appearance of greater VT, even if it means accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, because their landscaping and roofing system overhangs currently do some shading. Others choose a stronger tint for glare control on waterside lots that show extreme light.
In useful terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to modern 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 surfaces, and a correctly sized variable-speed HVAC, and you start to build durability. If the grid goes down and you switch to a generator, a lower cooling load implies a smaller sized generator and fewer gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance, or NOA, is the document you request. It information the authorized setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures checked. It is not enough to hear "these are Miami-Dade approved windows" in a display room. Validate the NOA matches the precise model and choices you are purchasing, 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 supplies FL numbers that reveal code compliance. In the remainder of the state outside the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, Florida building regulations windows can rely on Florida Item Approval without Miami-Dade particular NOAs. Numerous leading makers bring both. Where spending plans allow, I choose NOA items even outside the zone since the testing is stiffer.
NFRC labels deal with energy metrics. They won't inform you impact performance, but they reveal U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leak. Aim for air leakage at or below 0.3 cfm/ft TWO. Tighter is better for humidity control, but 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. Set up expenses differ with size, shape, surface, and gain access to. On uncomplicated single-family homes, per-opening costs often land between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for basic sizes. Big multi-panel sliders, custom-made arches, and coastal-grade finishes raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recover value:
If you plan to own the residential or commercial property for five years or more, the math typically tilts in favor of impact windows, particularly when you factor the intangible of comfort. If you prepare to sell within a year and require to show compliance rapidly, shutters might make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I focus on hardware and devices. Multi-point locks on casements and awnings improve seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless real estates slide smoother and last longer on sandy patios. Look at the sill design on sliding doors. Weep systems must be crafted to drain 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 style. Reflective movies can contravene of neighborhood associations or produce mirror-like glare towards neighboring homes. In seaside ecosystems, extremely reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Regional pros understand which coatings balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a huge offer. Dark bronze or black frames look fantastic on contemporary homes, however in Florida sun low-cost surfaces chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coatings supply the very best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for coastal exposures whenever budgets allow.
Historic districts often require 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 familiar with these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations in some cases specify a narrow list of approved items for harmony. They also care about noise control in between units. If your structure sits straight on Collins Opportunity or deals with a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated choices. Deal with structure management on staging and lift gain access to. Weekend work windows and restricted parking can include days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, need unique attention in style pressure, deflection, and operating hardware. Not every unit that looks sturdy in a showroom fulfills the wind loads on a ninth-floor veranda. Do not rely on catalog maximum sizes. Use the NOA tables that correspond to your website's zone, favorable and unfavorable pressures, and mullion combinations if any.
The best tasks start with a measured survey and direct exposure analysis. You map each opening, note the substrate, and identify any framing abnormalities or settlement fractures. During proposal, the contractor reveals you the NOA and the Florida Product 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 install day, they get rid of one opening at a time to keep your home safe and secure. They secure floors, draw back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames come out with care to maintain interior surfaces. New systems get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The team checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photo anchors for the permit file, specifically if they will be hidden. After glazing, they water-test with a controlled spray to verify drain paths and seals. The inspector sees a cool jobsite, clear labels, and documentation affordable hurricane proof windows in order.
Six months later on, your windows still close with two fingers, locks bite efficiently, and there is no mystery rattle throughout thunderstorms. You did not need to require a roller change after the first week. That is the standard.
Impact rating does not equivalent breakproof. Laminated glass can crack under extreme effects, but it should remain in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends out debris into the glass, you may see star fractures or spidering. The window did its job. Change the sash or IGU after the event.

Window movies do not transform non-impact windows into cyclone impact-resistant windows. They can include shatter resistance, however they do not replacement for a checked, anchored system. Your insurance provider and building department will not count films as safeguarded openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient impact windows lower air leak. That's fantastic, but it increases the importance of an appropriately sized heating and cooling with good dehumidification. If your system is large, the thermostat pleases rapidly and stops working to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your HVAC pro to examine sensible heat ratio, airflow, and run time. You want 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 every year with a silicone-based item that will not gum up in heat. Small practices extend lifespan.
There are legitimate reasons to mix services. A set of seldom used garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave budget plan. A deep-set porch with minimal sun exposure may do fine with accordion shutters if you focus on other upgrades like a brand-new roof deck attachment or a fortified garage door. Shutters can likewise protect outside cooking areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age elegant hardware prematurely.
If you pick shutters, buy quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with handbook bypasses for roll-downs make a difference. Designate obligation for deployment and practice when beyond a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you require 32 wing nuts is not the early morning you want to discover you have 29.
Impact windows are not just about surviving 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 noise 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 people rather than panels.
For many of my customers, that intangible is the choosing aspect. They understand storms will come. They also understand life in South Florida is too excellent to live inside a fortress that just wakes up in August. Miami-Dade approved windows provide you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February early morning and quiet self-confidence when the spaghetti designs point our way in September.
If you are weighing the choice, start with a site-specific assessment. Match your direct exposures to create pressures, pick the best laminated glass stack for wind and heat, choose frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and hire a crew that appreciates the load course. Done right, energy‑efficient effect windows provide what shutters can not: defense that never ever requests for a ladder and a better home every day of the year.