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 next-door neighbors track tropical waves, the pre-storm rush to stock up, and the ritual of hauling ladders to install panels. After two decades specifying, setting up, and troubleshooting building envelopes from Secret Largo to Palm Beach, I have actually seen what holds up and what does not. When the objective is real protection with year-round convenience, Miami-Dade authorized, energy‑efficient effect windows outshine shutters in manner ins which exceed storm day. They change how a home feels in August, how peaceful your living room remains on a Saturday night, and how confident you are when a storm line spins up quicker than predicted.
This is a practical take a look at why many South Florida house owners are moving from shutters to cyclone impact-resistant windows, how to read the standards behind "Miami-Dade authorized," what materials matter, and how to get the setup right the very first time.
Miami-Dade County's Item Control Department sets among the toughest criteria in the country for building elements exposed to windborne particles. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is earned through specific laboratory tests that simulate genuine typhoon conditions.
First comes large rocket effect. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at the glass at approximately 34 miles per hour. That imitates roof tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the effect, the same system deals with cyclic pressure loading, thousands of pressurization and depressurization cycles that simulate fast wind gusts over hours. If the glass remains in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The difference between "fulfills Florida building regulations windows" and "Miami-Dade approved windows" typically resides in these test thresholds. Miami-Dade is simply stiffer, especially in High Speed Hurricane Zone requirements, that include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind rankings differ by opening size and style pressures, signified as PSF values. On ocean-facing residential or commercial properties or high-rises, I typically define systems rated at +60/ -80 PSF or greater. Inland or in more secured direct exposures, ratings in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can be enough, however you size and spec based upon the site's wind map, building height, and surrounding structures. A professional knows 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 much better than absolutely nothing. Category 5 hurricane rating But they ask you to do operate at the worst possible time. impact resistant doors When a watch turns to a warning 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 location. You get constant defense, 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: 2 panes of glass bonded by a durable interlayer, usually PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps sound. On jobs along hectic corridors like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight courses, I have actually determined interior sound drops in the 5 to 10 decibel variety, sometimes more when coupled with insulated glass units.
Security enhances because laminated glass withstands forced entry. A robber can shatter the external lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the fragments. They fulfill a sticky, stubborn membrane rather of a fast course inside. Insurance coverage underwriters understand this, which is why policies often offer credits for impact windows and doors. In my jobs, premiums normally drop 10 to 25 percent, depending on the provider and how many openings are protected.
Energy performance is the third pillar. Energy-efficient effect windows with contemporary low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while maintaining noticeable light. That means less a/c demand, specifically on west and south direct exposures where the afternoon sun penalizes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we replaced 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E effect units. Summer afternoon peak load come by approximately a lots of cooling, and the home's annual electrical energy usage fell in between 12 and 18 percent. Outcomes differ with shading, attic insulation, and HVAC efficiency, but the instructions is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, however not all laminated items are equal.
Most residential typhoon windows utilize a PVB interlayer glass stack, typically 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or numerous plies. Thicker interlayers improve effect resistance and sound control, but they include weight and expense. 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 sites, acoustic PVB solutions modify the polymer to better absorb sound in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz range, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows show 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 effect system. However tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the cyclone sense. When it fails, it blows up into small cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening vulnerable. The impact efficiency comes from laminated construction, not tempering by itself. Many systems use a tempered external lite laminated to an annealed inner lite, or both tempered, but constantly bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E finishes matter for convenience. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida usually targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 range while keeping visible light transmission around 50 percent or higher. Go too short on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, specifically in larger openings. The sweet spot depends upon your façade orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I frequently tighten up SHGC and accept a small tint to manage morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I lean toward greater visible transmittance for daylighting.

Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames control here since they deal with large openings and won't swell. Thermal breaks and enhanced glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy gap with vinyl. High-quality vinyl impact frames, when enhanced appropriately, can perform well for standard-sized openings and have better insulating worths, however I avoid them for very wide sliders or tall storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad systems look stunning in older Mediterranean Revival homes, however they demand careful upkeep and clever flashing. The Florida sun ruins inexpensive vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum surfaces quickly. Try to find powder-coated finishes rated for seaside direct exposure, and request composed guarantee details in salt-air environments.
Window installation can make or break efficiency. A costly system set up like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's stress test. The load course 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 building, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into solid material. Hollow cells should be grouted or you need to hit the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to occur. In wood-framed homes, structural screws must bite storm surge protection windows 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 develop a long lasting, flexible seal that deals with thermal growth. Too little a bead and it tears under motion. Too big and it treatments inadequately. On seaside tasks, I never ever combine 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 vital. If you depend on sealant alone, water will discover its way in. That wetness may not show up as a drip. It may rot a sill plate slowly, then betray itself as a buckling flooring or a moldy smell two typhoon seasons later.
I have nothing against properly designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are maintained and oiled, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels saved thoroughly can protect homes effectively. They also help in particular cases.
Second homes or seasonal rentals where spending plan is tight often lean on shutters to satisfy the Florida building regulations windows requirement for protected openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is seldom used in summer, a tidy motorized roll-down can be affordable, particularly if coupling with effect doors and windows somewhere else worries the spending plan. For homeowners who prepare to move within a year, shutters can be a brief bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring compromises. They darken the house when deployed, and they need action at precisely the time you are managing insurance coverage documents, gas cans, and family logistics. During Typhoon Irma, I viewed 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 endured with stitches. His living-room window did not. Shutters also rattle and can vibrate under sustained winds, in some cases loosening up fasteners with time if not maintained.
For long-lasting owners who wish to set it and forget it, effect windows give cyclone evidence windows coverage while preserving daytime and view. The convenience grows valuable once you've experienced one storm season with absolutely no prep beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes fight two battles: hidden load from humidity and practical load from direct solar heat gain. Impact glass upgrades can assist both if specified intelligently.
Low-E effect glass utilizes microscopically thin metal layers to reflect infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the right covering stacks, you can obstruct a large portion of convected heat and UV. UV blockage in laminated systems comes mainly from the interlayer itself, which generally filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, decreasing fading of materials and floor covering. Include the low-E, and you suppress the solar heat that drives your air conditioner insane midafternoon.
I evaluate glass specifications with three numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still assists here by lowering nighttime heat flow and keeping the interior glass temperature level closer to space temperature, which minimizes condensation risk. SHGC drives just how much solar heat enters. VT affects how intense the interior feels. Balance is essential. Some house owners desire the crisp, clear appearance of higher VT, even if it means accepting a few degrees more heat in late afternoon, due to the fact that their landscaping and roofing overhangs already do some shading. Others choose a more powerful 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 minimize peak solar gains by 30 to half on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored outside surfaces, and a correctly sized variable-speed HVAC, and you start to build resilience. If the grid goes down and you switch to a generator, a lower cooling load indicates a smaller generator and fewer gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance, or NOA, is the file you ask for. It information the approved setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures checked. It is insufficient to hear "these are Miami-Dade approved windows" in a display room. Validate the NOA matches the precise model and options you are purchasing, consisting of the glazing makeup and hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your permitting office will desire this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Item Approval system supplies FL numbers that show code compliance. In the remainder 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 leading makers carry both. Where budgets allow, I tempered glass thickness choose NOA products even outside the zone due to the fact that the testing is stiffer.
NFRC labels handle energy metrics. They will not tell you effect performance, but they reveal U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leak. Aim for air leak at or listed below 0.3 cfm/ft TWO. Tighter is better for humidity control, however make certain your home still has balanced ventilation. Sealing the envelope and disregarding 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 differ with size, shape, finish, and gain access to. On straightforward single-family homes, per-opening expenses frequently land between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for basic 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 property for five years or more, the math frequently tilts in favor of effect windows, especially when you factor the intangible of assurance. If you prepare to sell within a year and require to show compliance quickly, shutters might make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I pay attention to hardware and devices. Multi-point locks on sashes and awnings enhance seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless housings glide smoother and last longer on sandy outdoor patios. Look at the sill style on moving doors. Weep systems ought to be engineered 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 window frame materials style. Reflective movies can run afoul of neighborhood watch or produce mirror-like glare towards neighboring residential or commercial properties. In coastal communities, highly reflective glass can puzzle birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Local pros know which coverings balance efficiency with compliance.
Color stability is a huge deal. Dark bronze or black frames look great on modern homes, but in Florida sun cheap finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated finishes provide the best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for coastal exposures whenever budget plans allow.
Historic districts typically require profiles that mimic old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, however lead times extend and costs climb. Anticipate extra review by architectural boards, and line up a professional knowledgeable about these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations often specify a narrow list of authorized items for harmony. They likewise care about noise control in between units. If your building sits straight on Collins Opportunity or faces a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated alternatives. Deal with structure management on staging and lift access. Weekend work windows and restricted parking can include days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, need unique attention in design pressure, deflection, and running hardware. Not every system that looks durable in a showroom satisfies the wind loads on a ninth-floor balcony. Do not depend on brochure maximum sizes. Use the NOA tables that correspond to your site's zone, positive and negative pressures, and mullion mixes if any.
The finest projects start with a measured study and exposure analysis. You map each opening, keep in mind the substrate, and identify any framing irregularities or settlement cracks. During 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 remove one opening at a time to keep the house safe and secure. They safeguard floors, draw back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames bring out 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 photograph anchors for the authorization file, specifically if they will be hidden. After glazing, they water-test with a regulated spray to confirm drainage courses and seals. The inspector sees a neat jobsite, clear labels, and documents in order.
Six months later, your windows still close with 2 fingers, locks bite smoothly, and there is no mystery rattle throughout thunderstorms. You did not have to require a roller modification after the first week. That is the standard.
Impact rating does not equal breakproof. Laminated glass can crack under extreme impacts, but it must stay in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends particles into the glass, you may see star cracks or spidering. The window did its job. Replace the sash or IGU after the event.
Window films do not transform non-impact windows into cyclone impact-resistant windows. They can include shatter resistance, however they do not substitute for a checked, anchored system. Your insurance provider and structure department will not count films as secured openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient effect windows minimize air leak. That's great, but it increases the significance of a properly sized HVAC with good dehumidification. If your system is large, the thermostat pleases quickly and stops working to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your HVAC pro to inspect sensible heat ratio, air flow, and run time. You want constant, longer cycles, not short bursts.
Maintenance is straightforward but not optional. Tidy weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lubricate hardware annually with a silicone-based item that will not gum up in heat. Little habits extend lifespan.
There are legitimate factors to blend options. A set of hardly ever used garage windows can keep removable panels to shave budget. A deep-set patio with minimal sun direct exposure may do great with accordion shutters if you focus on other upgrades like a brand-new roofing deck attachment or a prepared garage door. Shutters can likewise safeguard outdoor 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 overrides for roll-downs make a difference. Assign obligation for deployment and practice when outside of a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you need 32 wing nuts is not the early morning you want to find you have 29.
Impact windows are not just about making it through the huge one. They improve daily living. The living-room remains cooler and quieter. The air conditioning 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 instead of panels.
For a number of my clients, that intangible is the choosing factor. They know storms will come. They likewise know life in South Florida is too great to live inside a fortress that just wakes up in August. Miami-Dade authorized windows give you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February morning and peaceful confidence when the spaghetti designs point our method September.
If you are weighing the choice, start with a site-specific evaluation. Match your exposures to create pressures, pick the ideal laminated glass stack for wind and heat, choose frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and work with a team that respects the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient impact windows provide what shutters can not: protection that never requests a ladder and a much better home every day of the year.