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 neighbors track tropical waves, the pre-storm rush to stock up, and the routine of transporting ladders to install panels. After 20 years specifying, setting up, and repairing building envelopes from Key Largo to Palm Beach, I have actually seen what holds up and what does not. When the goal is genuine security with year-round convenience, Miami-Dade authorized, energy‑efficient impact windows outshine shutters in ways that surpass storm day. They change how a house feels in August, how quiet your living room remains on a Saturday night, and how positive you are when a storm line spins up much faster than predicted.
This is a practical look at why many South Florida house owners are moving from shutters to cyclone impact-resistant windows, how to check out the standards behind "Miami-Dade approved," what materials matter, and how to get the installation right the first time.
Miami-Dade County's Product Control Division sets among the toughest benchmarks in the nation for developing components exposed to windborne particles. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is earned through specific laboratory tests that replicate genuine cyclone conditions.
First comes big missile effect. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at the glass at approximately 34 miles per hour. That imitates roofing tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the effect, the very same system deals with cyclic pressure loading, thousands of pressurization and depressurization cycles that simulate quick wind gusts over hours. If the glass remains in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The difference between "fulfills Florida building code windows" and "Miami-Dade approved windows" often lives in these test limits. Miami-Dade is merely stiffer, especially in High Velocity Typhoon Zone requirements, that include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind rankings differ by opening size and design pressures, denoted as PSF worths. On ocean-facing homes or high-rises, I often specify units rated at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more protected direct exposures, rankings in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can be sufficient, but you size and specification based on the site's wind map, constructing height, and surrounding structures. A professional knows that a corner direct exposure at the 2nd story needs various reinforcement 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 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, 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 protection, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on United States 1. You likewise get benefits every day of the year.
Noise control is the most underappreciated benefit. Laminated impact glass is essentially a sandwich: two panes of glass bonded by a resilient interlayer, generally PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps noise. On jobs along hectic passages like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight courses, I've measured interior sound drops in the 5 to 10 decibel variety, often more when paired with insulated glass units.
Security improves since laminated glass resists forced entry. An intruder can shatter the external lite with a hammer, however the interlayer holds the fragments. They meet a sticky, stubborn membrane instead of a fast path inside. Insurance coverage underwriters know this, which is why policies frequently use credits for effect doors and windows. In my tasks, premiums usually drop 10 to 25 percent, depending on the carrier and how many openings are protected.
Energy performance is the 3rd pillar. Energy-efficient impact windows with modern-day low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while maintaining visible light. That indicates less a/c need, particularly on west and south exposures where the afternoon sun punishes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we changed 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E effect systems. Summer afternoon peak load visited roughly a ton of cooling, and the home's yearly electricity use fell between 12 and 18 percent. Results vary with shading, attic insulation, and HVAC efficiency, but the instructions is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, but not all laminated products are equal.
Most domestic hurricane windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, commonly 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or numerous plies. Thicker interlayers enhance effect resistance and sound control, however they include weight and expense. For oceanfront or high openings, you weather-resistant impact windows Boca Raton may see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and more powerful than PVB, allowing thinner sections to achieve higher style pressures. For noise-sensitive websites, acoustic PVB solutions modify the polymer to much better absorb noise in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz variety, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows turn up often in conversations since tempered glass is stronger in bending than annealed glass. That holds true, and tempered lites are commonly utilized as the outer or inner ply in an impact system. However tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the hurricane sense. When it fails, it takes off into small cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening susceptible. The impact performance originates from laminated building, 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 coatings 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 noticeable light transmission around 50 percent or greater. Go too short on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, especially in bigger openings. The sweet spot depends on your façade orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I often tighten up SHGC and accept a minor tint to handle early 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 because they manage large openings and won't swell. Thermal breaks and enhanced glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy gap with vinyl. Premium vinyl impact frames, when strengthened effectively, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have better insulating worths, but I avoid them for extremely broad sliders or high storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look gorgeous in older Mediterranean Revival homes, but they demand mindful maintenance and clever flashing. The Florida sun damages inexpensive vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum surfaces quickly. Look for powder-coated finishes rated for seaside direct exposure, and demand composed guarantee information in salt-air environments.
Window setup can make or break efficiency. A pricey unit set up like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's stress test. The load path is the essence. Impact forces need to take a trip 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, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into solid material. Hollow cells must 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 strong trimmers, not simply sheathing. Shimming and plumb alignment matter so the locks engage cleanly and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not just aesthetic. A correctly sized backer rod and premium polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant produce a long lasting, flexible seal that manages thermal growth. Too little a bead and it tears under movement. Too big and it remedies inadequately. On coastal tasks, I never combine dissimilar metals without a barrier, and I constantly 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 essential. If you rely on sealant alone, water will find its way in. That moisture might not show up as a drip. It may rot a sill plate slowly, then betray itself as a buckling flooring or a moldy odor 2 cyclone seasons later.
I have absolutely nothing versus properly designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are maintained and oiled, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels saved carefully can protect homes effectively. They also help in specific cases.
Second homes or seasonal leasings where budget is tight in some cases lean on shutters to meet the Florida building regulations windows requirement for safeguarded openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is hardly ever utilized in summer season, a tidy motorized roll-down can be reasonable, specifically if pairing with effect windows and doors elsewhere worries the budget. For homeowners who prepare to move within a year, shutters can be a brief bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring trade-offs. They darken the house when deployed, and they need action at exactly the time you are managing insurance coverage papers, gas cans, and family logistics. During Hurricane Irma, I enjoyed a next-door neighbor try to install 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 room. He endured with stitches. His living-room window did not. Shutters likewise rattle and can vibrate under sustained winds, sometimes loosening up fasteners gradually if not maintained.
For long-lasting owners who wish to set it and forget it, impact windows give typhoon proof windows coverage while maintaining daytime and view. The convenience grows important once you have actually experienced one storm season with zero prep beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes combat 2 battles: hidden load from humidity and sensible load from direct solar heat gain. Effect glass upgrades can assist both if specified intelligently.
Low-E effect glass utilizes microscopically thin metallic layers to reflect infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the best covering stacks, you can obstruct a large part of radiant heat and UV. UV obstruction in laminated systems comes mostly from the interlayer itself, which usually filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, reducing fading of fabrics and floor covering. Add the low-E, Boca Raton residential window installation and you suppress the solar heat that drives your air conditioner crazy midafternoon.
I examine glass specs 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, which reduces condensation danger. SHGC drives just how much solar heat gets in. VT affects how bright the interior feels. Balance is essential. Some homeowners desire the crisp, clear appearance of greater VT, even if it means accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, since their landscaping and roofing system overhangs currently do some shading. Others prefer a stronger tint for glare control on waterfront lots that reflect harsh light.
In useful terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to modern-day low-E laminated double-glazed systems can decrease peak solar gains by 30 to half on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored exterior finishes, and a properly sized variable-speed HVAC, and you start to construct resilience. If the grid decreases and you change to a generator, a lower cooling load indicates a smaller sized generator and fewer gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notice of Approval, or NOA, is the file you ask for. It information the authorized setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures checked. It is insufficient to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" in a display room. Confirm the NOA matches the specific model and alternatives 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 Product Approval system supplies FL numbers that show code compliance. In the rest of the state outside affordable Boca Raton impact windows the High Speed Typhoon Zone, Florida building regulations windows can rely on Florida Item Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Many leading manufacturers carry both. Where budgets permit, I prefer NOA products even outside the zone since the screening is stiffer.
NFRC labels deal with energy metrics. They will not tell you effect performance, however they reveal U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leak. Aim for air leak at or listed 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 dish for indoor air quality complaints.
Impact windows cost more upfront than shutters. There's no spin around that. Set up costs differ with size, shape, finish, and access. On straightforward single-family homes, per-opening costs often land in between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for standard sizes. Big multi-panel sliders, customized arches, and coastal-grade surfaces raise the numbers quickly.

Where you recover value:
If you prepare to own the property for 5 years or more, the math frequently tilts in favor of impact windows, especially when you factor the intangible of peace of mind. If you prepare to offer within a year and need to show compliance rapidly, shutters may 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 housings move smoother and last longer on sandy outdoor patios. Look at the sill design on sliding doors. Weep systems need to be engineered to drain pipes heavy rains without letting wind-driven water blow back in. Ask to see a cutaway sample in the showroom.
Tint colors and reflectivity are more than fashion. Reflective movies can run afoul of neighborhood associations or produce mirror-like glare towards neighboring homes. In seaside environments, highly reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Local pros understand which finishes balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a big offer. Dark bronze or black frames look great on modern homes, however in Florida sun best window installation options Boca Raton cheap finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coatings provide the best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for seaside exposures whenever spending plans allow.
Historic districts often require profiles that mimic old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, however lead times lengthen and costs Boca Raton window installers climb. Expect additional evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a contractor familiar with these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations sometimes specify a narrow list of authorized products for harmony. They also care about noise control between units. If your structure sits directly on Collins Opportunity or faces a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated choices. Deal with structure management on staging and lift access. Weekend work windows and minimal parking can add days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, require special attention in design pressure, deflection, and running hardware. Not every system that looks durable in a showroom meets the wind loads on a ninth-floor veranda. Do not rely on catalog maximum sizes. Utilize the NOA tables that correspond to your site's zone, positive and unfavorable pressures, and mullion mixes if any.
The finest jobs begin with a measured survey and exposure analysis. You map each opening, note the substrate, and determine any framing irregularities or settlement fractures. Throughout proposition, the specialist reveals you the NOA and the Florida Product Approval, lists anchor types, and explains 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 remove one opening at a time to keep the house secure. They secure 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 crew checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photo anchors for the license file, especially if they will be concealed. After glazing, they water-test with a regulated spray to verify drainage paths and seals. The inspector sees a neat jobsite, clear labels, and documents in order.
Six months later, your windows still close with two fingers, locks bite efficiently, and there is no secret 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 must stay in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends out debris into the glass, you might see star cracks or spidering. The window did its task. Change the sash or IGU after the event.
Window movies do not transform non-impact windows into hurricane impact-resistant windows. They can include shatter resistance, however they do not substitute for an evaluated, anchored system. Your insurance company and structure department will not count films as safeguarded openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient effect windows minimize air leakage. That's fantastic, however it increases the importance of a properly sized heating and cooling with good dehumidification. If your system is extra-large, the thermostat pleases quickly and fails to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your a/c pro to examine practical heat ratio, airflow, and run time. You desire steady, longer cycles, not brief bursts.
Maintenance is uncomplicated but not optional. Tidy weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lube hardware annually with a silicone-based product that will not gum up in heat. Small routines extend lifespan.
There are legitimate reasons to mix options. A set of hardly ever used garage windows can keep removable panels to shave budget plan. A deep-set porch with very little sun exposure may do great with accordion shutters if you prioritize other upgrades like a brand-new roofing deck accessory or a fortified garage door. Shutters can also safeguard outside kitchen areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age expensive hardware prematurely.
If you select shutters, buy quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with handbook bypasses for roll-downs make a distinction. Designate obligation for release and practice when outside of a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you need 32 wing nuts is not the morning you wish to find you have 29.
Impact windows are not just about surviving the huge one. They reshape daily living. The living room remains cooler and quieter. The air conditioner 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 focus on individuals instead of panels.
For much of my clients, that intangible is the deciding factor. They understand storms will come. They also understand life in South Florida is too good to live inside a fortress that only gets up in August. Miami-Dade approved windows offer you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February early morning and quiet self-confidence when the spaghetti models point our method September.
If you are weighing the option, start with a site-specific assessment. Match your exposures to develop pressures, select the ideal laminated glass stack for wind and heat, choose frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and hire a team that respects the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient effect windows deliver what shutters can not: security that never asks for a ladder and a better home every day of the year.