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 stock up, and the ritual of hauling ladders to mount panels. After 20 years specifying, setting up, and troubleshooting structure envelopes from Key Largo to Palm Beach, I've seen what holds up and what does not. When the objective is real protection with year-round convenience, Miami-Dade approved, energy‑efficient effect windows outperform shutters in manner ins which exceed storm day. They change 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 quicker than predicted.
This is a practical take a look at why lots of South Florida house 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 setup right the first time.
Miami-Dade County's Product Control Division sets among the hardest benchmarks in the country for constructing elements exposed to windborne particles. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is made through specific laboratory tests that mimic genuine typhoon conditions.
First comes big rocket impact. A 9-pound 2x4 is contended the glass at approximately 34 miles per hour. That imitates roofing system tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the effect, the very same unit deals with cyclic pressure loading, countless pressurization and depressurization cycles that mimic fast wind gusts over hours. If the glass stays 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 resides in these test limits. Miami-Dade is simply stiffer, especially in High Velocity Hurricane Zone requirements, that include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind rankings vary by opening size and style pressures, signified as PSF values. On ocean-facing residential or commercial properties or high-rises, I typically specify units ranked at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more secured direct exposures, rankings in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can be adequate, but you size and specification based on the site's wind map, developing height, and surrounding structures. An expert understands that a corner exposure at the 2nd story needs different reinforcement than a sheltered window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs effect windows is not a one-to-one contrast. Shutters can fulfill code, and they're much better than absolutely nothing. However they ask you to do work 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 live in place. You get continuous defense, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on US 1. You likewise get benefits 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 resilient interlayer, normally PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps sound. On jobs along hectic corridors like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight paths, I have actually measured interior noise drops in the 5 to 10 decibel variety, sometimes more when coupled with insulated glass units.
Security enhances due to the fact that laminated glass resists forced entry. A robber can shatter the external lite with a hammer, however the interlayer holds the shards. They satisfy a sticky, persistent membrane instead of a fast path inside. Insurance underwriters know this, which is why policies frequently offer credits for impact doors and windows. In my tasks, premiums typically drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the carrier and the number of 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 noticeable light. That indicates less a/c need, 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 effect units. Summer season afternoon peak load come by approximately a lots of cooling, and the home's yearly electrical power usage fell between 12 and 18 percent. Results vary with shading, attic insulation, and HVAC performance, however the instructions is consistent.
Laminated impact glass is the heart of the system, however not all laminated items are equal.
Most domestic typhoon windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, frequently 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or numerous plies. Thicker interlayers improve impact resistance and sound control, however they include weight and cost. For oceanfront or tall openings, you might 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 take in sound in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz variety, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows come up typically in discussions because tempered glass is stronger in flexing than annealed glass. That holds true, and tempered lites are frequently used as the external 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 small cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening vulnerable. The impact performance comes from laminated construction, not tempering by itself. Numerous systems use a tempered external lite laminated to a hardened inner lite, or both tempered, but always bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E coverings matter for comfort. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida generally 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 short on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, specifically in bigger openings. The sweet spot depends upon your exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I frequently tighten SHGC and accept a slight tint to handle morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I favor higher noticeable transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames dominate here because they handle large openings and will not swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have actually narrowed the energy space with vinyl. Premium vinyl effect frames, when enhanced appropriately, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have better insulating values, but I prevent them for really large sliders or tall storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look stunning in older Mediterranean Revival homes, but they require mindful upkeep and smart flashing. The Florida sun damages inexpensive vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum finishes quickly. Look for powder-coated surfaces rated for coastal direct exposure, and request composed service warranty information in salt-air environments.
Window setup can make or break efficiency. A pricey system set up like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's tension test. The load path is the crux. Effect forces need 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 desire stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong product. Hollow cells should be grouted or you require to strike the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to happen. In wood-framed homes, structural screws should 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 visual. An appropriately sized backer rod and top quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant produce a resilient, flexible seal that manages thermal expansion. Too little a bead and it tears under movement. Too big and it remedies inadequately. On seaside jobs, I never ever match different metals without a barrier, and I always specify corrosion-resistant fasteners. Ten years later, you will see who took shortcuts.
Flashing is the other non-negotiable. Pan flashing at sills, self-adhered membranes at jambs and heads, and integration with the water-resistive barrier are important. If you depend on sealant alone, water will discover its way in. That wetness might not show up as a drip. It might rot a sill plate slowly, then betray itself as a buckling flooring or a moldy odor two typhoon seasons later.
I have absolutely nothing against properly designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are kept and lubricated, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels kept thoroughly can protect homes efficiently. They likewise help in specific cases.
Second homes or seasonal leasings where budget is tight often lean on shutters to satisfy the Florida building code windows requirement for protected openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is hardly ever used in summer, a tidy motorized roll-down can be affordable, especially if pairing with impact doors and windows in other places worries the spending plan. For house owners who plan to move within a year, shutters can be a brief bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring trade-offs. They darken your home when deployed, and they require action at precisely the time you are juggling insurance coverage documents, gas cans, and family logistics. Throughout Hurricane Irma, I saw a 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 room. He survived with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters also rattle and can vibrate under sustained winds, in some cases loosening up fasteners gradually if not maintained.
For long-term owners who want to set it and forget it, impact windows give cyclone evidence windows protection while protecting daytime and view. The benefit grows important once you've experienced one storm season with absolutely no prep beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes fight two fights: latent load from humidity and practical load from direct solar heat gain. Impact glass upgrades can help both if defined intelligently.
Low-E effect glass utilizes microscopically thin metallic layers to show infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the best finish stacks, you can obstruct a big part of convected heat and UV. UV blockage in laminated units comes largely from the interlayer itself, which typically filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, minimizing fading of fabrics and flooring. Include the low-E, and you suppress the solar heat that drives your air conditioning 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 space temperature level, which lowers condensation risk. SHGC drives just how much solar heat enters. VT affects how brilliant the interior feels. Balance is key. Some property owners desire the crisp, clear look of greater VT, even if it indicates accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, due to the fact that their landscaping and roofing system overhangs currently do some shading. Others choose a stronger tint for glare control on waterfront lots that reflect severe light.
In useful terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to contemporary 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 exterior surfaces, and an appropriately sized variable-speed HVAC, and you begin to develop strength. If the grid decreases and you change to a generator, a lower cooling load means a smaller sized generator and fewer gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notice of Approval, or NOA, is the document you request. It details the approved setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures tested. It is insufficient to hear "these are Miami-Dade approved windows" in a display room. Verify the NOA matches the exact model and choices you are purchasing, including the glazing makeup and hardware. If you are in Broward or Miami-Dade, your permitting workplace will desire 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 Velocity Hurricane Zone, Florida building regulations windows can rely on Florida Product Approval without Miami-Dade particular NOAs. Numerous top makers bring both. Where budgets permit, I prefer NOA products even outside the zone since the testing is stiffer.
NFRC labels handle energy metrics. They won't tell you effect efficiency, but they reveal U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leak. Go for air leak at or below 0.3 cfm/ft TWO. Tighter is much better for humidity control, however ensure your home still has stabilized 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. Set up costs differ with size, shape, finish, and access. On uncomplicated single-family homes, per-opening costs frequently land between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for standard sizes. Large multi-panel sliders, custom arches, and coastal-grade surfaces raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recover worth:
If you prepare to own the residential or commercial property for 5 years or more, the math typically tilts in favor of impact windows, especially when you factor the intangible of peace of mind. If you plan to offer within a year and require to reveal compliance quickly, shutters may make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I pay attention to hardware and accessories. Multi-point locks on sashes and awnings enhance seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless housings move smoother and last longer on sandy outdoor patios. Look at the sill design on moving doors. Weep systems should 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 fashion. Reflective movies can run afoul of neighborhood associations or produce mirror-like glare toward neighboring properties. In coastal communities, extremely reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Local pros know which coatings balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a big deal. Dark bronze or black frames look wonderful on contemporary homes, but in Florida sun inexpensive finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coatings supply the very best color retention and chalk resistance. I specify them for seaside exposures whenever budgets allow.
Historic districts frequently need profiles that imitate old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, however lead times lengthen and costs climb. Anticipate additional evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a professional acquainted with these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations in some cases specify a narrow list of authorized products for harmony. They also appreciate sound control between units. If your structure sits directly on Collins Opportunity or faces a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated alternatives. 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 design pressure, deflection, and running hardware. Not every system that looks tough in a showroom meets the wind loads on a ninth-floor terrace. Do not depend on catalog optimum sizes. Utilize the NOA tables that correspond to your site's zone, favorable and unfavorable pressures, and mullion combinations if any.

The best tasks begin with a measured survey and direct exposure analysis. You map each opening, note the substrate, and determine any framing irregularities or settlement fractures. Throughout proposal, the contractor shows you the NOA and the Florida Item Approval, lists anchor types, and discusses how each opening will be building code compliant windows flashed and sealed. They plan for stucco or drywall repair work, not pretend no damage will occur.
On set up day, they eliminate one opening at a time to keep your home protected. They protect floors, draw back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames bring out care to preserve interior surfaces. New systems get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The team checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photo anchors for the permit file, especially 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 paperwork 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 need to require a roller adjustment after the first week. That is the standard.
Impact score does not equivalent breakproof. Laminated glass can crack under severe impacts, but it must remain 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 task. Change the sash or IGU after the event.
Window movies do not convert buy impact windows near me non-impact windows into hurricane impact-resistant windows. They can add shatter resistance, but they do not replacement for a tested, anchored system. Your insurance company and structure department will not count movies as safeguarded openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient effect windows reduce air leakage. That's excellent, however it increases the value of an effectively sized heating and cooling with great dehumidification. If your system is large, the thermostat satisfies rapidly and fails 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 simple however 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 practices extend lifespan.
There are genuine factors to blend solutions. A pair of seldom used garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave budget plan. A deep-set deck with minimal sun direct exposure might do great with accordion shutters if you prioritize other upgrades like a brand-new roofing deck attachment or a prepared garage door. Shutters can also secure outdoor kitchens or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age fancy hardware prematurely.
If you pick shutters, invest in quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with manual bypasses for roll-downs make a difference. Designate obligation for implementation and practice once outside of 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 only about making it through the big one. They reshape daily living. The living room remains cooler and quieter. The air conditioning cycles calmly instead of racing at 4 p.m. You sleep without freight trains of wind noise when a squall line passes at 2 a.m. When a hurricane threatens, your preparation list gets shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and focus on individuals rather than panels.
For a number of my customers, that intangible is the deciding factor. They know storms will come. They also know life in South Florida is too good to live inside a fortress that only wakes up in August. Miami-Dade authorized windows give you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February early morning and peaceful confidence when the spaghetti designs point our method September.
If you are weighing the choice, start with a site-specific assessment. Match your exposures to develop pressures, choose the best laminated glass stack for wind and heat, choose frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and work with a crew that respects the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient effect windows provide what shutters can not: security that never ever asks for a ladder and a much better home every day of the year.