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 two decades specifying, setting up, and fixing building envelopes from Secret Largo to Palm Beach, I've seen what holds up and what does not. When the objective is real protection with year-round comfort, Miami-Dade approved, energy‑efficient impact windows outperform shutters in ways that surpass storm day. They alter 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 numerous South Florida property owners are moving from shutters to hurricane impact-resistant windows, how to read the standards behind "Miami-Dade approved," what materials matter, and how to get the installation right the first time.
Miami-Dade County's Item Control Division sets among the toughest criteria in the country for developing parts exposed to windborne particles. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is made through particular laboratory tests that imitate genuine typhoon conditions.

First comes large rocket impact. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at the glass at roughly 34 miles per hour. That mimics roof tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the impact, the same unit deals with cyclic pressure loading, thousands of pressurization and depressurization cycles that mimic rapid wind gusts over hours. If the glass stays in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The distinction in between "satisfies Florida building regulations windows" and "Miami-Dade approved windows" frequently lives in these test limits. Miami-Dade is merely stiffer, particularly in High Speed Typhoon Zone requirements, that include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind ratings differ by opening size and style pressures, signified as PSF worths. On ocean-facing properties or high-rises, I typically define systems ranked at +60/ -80 PSF or greater. Inland or in more protected direct exposures, rankings in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can be adequate, but quality hurricane proof windows you size and spec based upon the website's wind map, constructing height, and surrounding structures. A professional knows that a corner direct exposure at the second story needs various reinforcement affordable hurricane proof windows Boca Raton than a sheltered window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs impact windows is not a one-to-one comparison. Shutters can meet code, and they're better than 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, 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 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 durable interlayer, usually PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps noise. On tasks along hectic passages like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight courses, I've measured interior noise drops in the 5 to 10 decibel variety, sometimes more when coupled with insulated glass units.
Security enhances because laminated glass resists forced entry. An intruder can shatter the external lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the shards. They meet a sticky, stubborn membrane rather of a quick course inside. Insurance underwriters understand this, which is why policies frequently provide credits for effect doors and windows. In my projects, premiums generally drop 10 to 25 percent, depending on the provider and how many openings are protected.
Energy performance is the 3rd pillar. Energy-efficient effect windows with modern-day low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while maintaining visible light. That means less air conditioning need, specifically on west and south exposures where the afternoon sun punishes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we replaced 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E effect units. Summertime afternoon peak load visited roughly a ton of cooling, and the home's yearly electrical energy use fell in between 12 and 18 percent. Outcomes vary with shading, attic insulation, and a/c performance, however the instructions is consistent.

Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, however not all laminated items are equal.
Most domestic cyclone windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, commonly 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or multiple plies. Thicker interlayers enhance effect resistance and sound control, but they add weight and cost. For oceanfront or tall openings, you may see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, permitting thinner sections to accomplish higher style pressures. For noise-sensitive websites, acoustic PVB formulations modify the polymer to much better soak up sound in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz range, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows turn up often in conversations because tempered glass is more powerful in bending than annealed glass. That holds true, and tempered lites are commonly utilized as the external or inner ply in an impact unit. But tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the typhoon sense. When it stops working, it explodes into little cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening susceptible. The impact efficiency comes from laminated building and construction, not tempering by itself. Lots of systems utilize a tempered external lite laminated to a hardened inner lite, or both tempered, but always bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E finishes matter for comfort. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida usually targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 range while keeping visible light transmission around 50 percent or greater. Go too low on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, specifically in larger openings. The sweet area depends on your exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I typically tighten up SHGC and accept a slight tint to handle early morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I lean toward higher visible transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames control here due to the fact that they manage large openings and will not swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy space with vinyl. Premium vinyl impact frames, when reinforced effectively, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have much better insulating values, but I prevent them for very large sliders or high storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look lovely in older Mediterranean Revival homes, but they demand careful maintenance and wise flashing. The Florida sun damages low-cost vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum surfaces rapidly. Search for powder-coated surfaces ranked for seaside direct exposure, and demand written service warranty information in salt-air environments.
Window installation can make or break efficiency. A costly unit set up like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's tension test. The load course is the crux. Effect forces have to travel from the glass through the frame, to the anchors, into the substrate, and then into Boca Raton window installation services the structure's framing or masonry.
In cinder block building and construction, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into solid material. Hollow cells should be grouted or you need to strike the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to happen. In wood-framed homes, structural screws must bite into strong trimmers, not just sheathing. Shimming and plumb alignment matter so the locks engage cleanly and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not just visual. A properly sized backer rod and high-quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant produce a durable, versatile seal that handles thermal expansion. Too small a bead and it tears under movement. Too big and it treatments badly. On coastal jobs, I never combine dissimilar 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 combination with the water-resistive barrier are vital. If you depend on sealant alone, water will discover its way in. That wetness may disappoint up as a drip. It might rot a sill plate gradually, then betray itself as a buckling flooring or a moldy odor two hurricane seasons later.
I have absolutely nothing against properly designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are maintained and oiled, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels stored thoroughly can protect homes efficiently. They also help in certain cases.
Second homes or seasonal rentals where budget plan is tight often lean on shutters to satisfy the Florida building code windows requirement for secured openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is hardly ever used in summertime, a clean motorized roll-down can be reasonable, particularly if pairing with impact windows and doors elsewhere stresses the budget plan. For house owners who prepare to move within a year, shutters can be a brief bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring compromises. They darken your house when deployed, and they need action at precisely the time you are juggling insurance papers, gas cans, and family logistics. During Hurricane Irma, I viewed a neighbor attempt to install steel panels hours before landfall. The ladder sank in saturated soil, a panel slipped, and we invested the next hour in the immediate care waiting space. He endured with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters also rattle and can vibrate under sustained winds, often loosening up fasteners with time if not maintained.
For long-lasting owners who wish to set it and forget it, impact windows give typhoon evidence windows coverage while preserving daylight and view. The benefit grows important once you have actually experienced one storm season with zero preparation beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes battle 2 battles: hidden load from humidity and sensible load from direct solar heat gain. Impact glass upgrades can help both if specified intelligently.
Low-E effect glass uses microscopically thin metal layers to reflect infrared energy while letting noticeable light through. With the right finish stacks, you can block a large portion of convected heat and UV. UV clog in laminated units comes largely from the interlayer itself, which usually 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 insane midafternoon.
I assess glass specs with 3 numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still helps here by decreasing nighttime heat circulation and keeping the interior glass temperature level closer to room temperature level, which minimizes condensation danger. SHGC drives how much solar heat enters. VT affects how brilliant the interior feels. Balance is essential. Some homeowners desire the crisp, clear look of higher VT, even if it means accepting a few degrees more heat in late afternoon, because their landscaping and roofing overhangs currently do some shading. Others choose a stronger tint for glare control on waterfront lots that reflect severe light.
In practical terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to modern 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 exterior surfaces, and an appropriately sized variable-speed HVAC, and you start to develop strength. If the grid decreases and you change to a generator, a lower cooling load implies a smaller sized generator and fewer gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notification of Acceptance, or NOA, is the document you request for. It information the authorized setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures checked. It is insufficient to hear "these are Miami-Dade approved windows" in a showroom. Validate the NOA matches the specific design and options you are purchasing, consisting of the glazing makeup and hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your allowing workplace will want this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Product Approval system provides FL numbers that show code compliance. In the rest of the state outside the High Speed Cyclone Zone, Florida building regulations windows can depend on Florida Item Approval without Miami-Dade particular NOAs. Many top affordable Boca Raton impact windows makers bring both. Where budgets permit, I prefer NOA products even outside the zone due to the fact that the screening is stiffer.
NFRC labels handle energy metrics. They will not inform you effect performance, however they reveal U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leak. Go for air leak at or below 0.3 cfm/ft TWO. Tighter is better for humidity control, however make sure your home still has balanced ventilation. Sealing the envelope and neglecting fresh air is a dish 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 access. On uncomplicated single-family homes, per-opening costs frequently 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 recoup worth:
If you plan to own the residential or commercial property for five years or more, the mathematics frequently tilts in favor of effect windows, especially when you factor the intangible of assurance. If you prepare to offer within a year and require to reveal compliance rapidly, shutters might make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I take note of hardware and accessories. Multi-point locks on casements and awnings improve seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless housings slide smoother and last longer on sandy patio areas. Look at the sill style on sliding doors. Weep systems need to be engineered to drain heavy rainfall without letting wind-driven water blow back in. Ask to see a cutaway sample in the showroom.
Tint colors and reflectivity are more than fashion. Reflective films can run afoul of neighborhood associations or produce mirror-like glare towards surrounding residential or commercial properties. In coastal communities, extremely reflective glass can puzzle birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Regional pros know which coatings balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a huge deal. Dark bronze or black frames look wonderful on modern homes, but in Florida sun low-cost finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated finishes provide the best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for coastal direct exposures whenever spending plans allow.
Historic districts frequently need profiles that mimic old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, but lead times lengthen and costs climb. Expect extra evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a contractor knowledgeable about these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations in some cases define a narrow list of approved items for uniformity. They also appreciate noise control in between units. If your building sits directly 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 limited parking can add days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, need unique attention in style pressure, deflection, and running hardware. Not every unit that looks sturdy in a showroom fulfills the wind loads on a ninth-floor terrace. Do not count on catalog maximum sizes. Use the NOA tables that correspond to your website's zone, positive and unfavorable pressures, and mullion mixes if any.
The finest tasks start with a measured survey and direct exposure analysis. You map each opening, keep in mind the substrate, and recognize any framing irregularities or settlement cracks. During proposal, the contractor reveals you the NOA and the Florida Product Approval, lists 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 house secure. They protect floors, draw back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames come out with care to preserve interior surfaces. New systems get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The crew checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photograph anchors for the license file, particularly if they will be concealed. After glazing, they water-test with a controlled spray to verify drainage paths and seals. The inspector sees a cool jobsite, clear labels, and documents 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 ranking does not equal breakproof. Laminated glass can split under serious impacts, however it should remain in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends particles into the glass, you might see star cracks or spidering. The window did its task. Replace the sash or IGU after the event.
Window films do not convert non-impact windows into cyclone impact-resistant windows. They can add shatter resistance, however they do not substitute for an evaluated, anchored system. Your insurance provider and building department will not count films as protected openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient effect windows decrease air leakage. That's terrific, but it increases the significance of a properly sized HVAC with excellent dehumidification. If your system is extra-large, the thermostat pleases rapidly and stops working to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your HVAC pro to check practical heat ratio, air flow, and run time. You want stable, longer cycles, not short bursts.
Maintenance is simple however not optional. Tidy weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lube hardware each year with a silicone-based product that will not gum up in heat. Small habits extend lifespan.
There are legitimate reasons to blend services. A pair of rarely used garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave budget plan. A deep-set porch with minimal sun exposure might do great with accordion shutters if you prioritize other upgrades like a brand-new roofing system deck attachment or a prepared garage door. Shutters can also secure outdoor kitchens or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age expensive hardware prematurely.
If you pick shutters, invest in quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with handbook bypasses for roll-downs make a distinction. Assign duty for implementation and practice once beyond a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you need 32 wing nuts is not the early morning you wish to discover you have 29.
Impact windows are not only about surviving the big one. They reshape daily living. The living room remains cooler and quieter. The AC cycles calmly instead of racing at 4 p.m. You sleep without freight trains of wind sound when a squall line passes at 2 a.m. When a cyclone threatens, your preparation list gets much shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and focus on people instead of panels.
For a lot of my clients, that intangible is the deciding element. They know storms will come. They likewise know life in South Florida is too great to live inside a fortress that just awakens in August. Miami-Dade approved windows offer you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February early morning and peaceful self-confidence when the spaghetti designs point our way in September.
If you are weighing the option, begin with a site-specific assessment. Match your direct exposures to create pressures, choose the right laminated glass stack for wind and heat, choose frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and work with a team that appreciates the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient impact windows provide what shutters can not: security that never requests a ladder and a much better home every day of the year.