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 neighbors track tropical waves, the pre-storm rush to stockpile, and the ritual of carrying ladders to install panels. After two decades specifying, installing, and fixing structure envelopes from Key Largo to Palm Beach, I've seen what holds up and what does not. When the objective is genuine security with year-round comfort, Miami-Dade authorized, energy‑efficient effect windows outperform shutters in manner ins which surpass storm day. They alter how a house feels in August, how peaceful your living room remains on a Saturday night, and how positive you are when a storm line spins up faster than predicted.
This is a useful take a look at why many South Florida house owners are moving from shutters to typhoon impact-resistant windows, how to read the requirements behind "Miami-Dade approved," what products matter, and how to get the installation right the very first time.
Miami-Dade County's Product Control Division sets among the toughest criteria in the country for constructing components exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is earned through specific laboratory tests that imitate genuine typhoon conditions.
First comes large rocket impact. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at the glass at approximately 34 miles per hour. That simulates roof tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the impact, the very same system deals with cyclic pressure loading, countless pressurization and depressurization cycles that simulate rapid wind gusts over hours. If the glass stays in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The difference in between "meets Florida building code windows" and "Miami-Dade approved windows" frequently lives in these test thresholds. Miami-Dade is simply stiffer, especially in High Speed Cyclone Zone requirements, which include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind scores vary by opening size and style pressures, denoted as PSF values. On ocean-facing residential or commercial properties or high-rises, I frequently define systems ranked at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more secured exposures, ratings in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can be adequate, however you size and specification based on the website's wind map, constructing height, and surrounding structures. An expert knows that a corner direct exposure at the second story demands various reinforcement than a protected window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs impact windows is not a one-to-one contrast. Shutters can meet code, and they're much better than nothing. However they ask you to do work at the worst possible time. When a watch turns to a warning and the projection 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 also get benefits every day of the year.
Noise control is the most underappreciated benefit. Laminated impact glass is basically a sandwich: two panes of glass bonded by a resistant interlayer, normally PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps sound. On tasks along hectic passages like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight courses, I have actually determined interior noise drops in the 5 to 10 decibel range, in some cases more when paired with insulated glass units.
Security enhances because laminated glass resists forced entry. A robber can shatter the outer lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the shards. They meet a sticky, persistent membrane rather of a fast path inside. Insurance coverage underwriters understand this, which is why policies frequently provide credits for impact doors and windows. In my projects, premiums usually drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the carrier and the number of openings are protected.
Energy efficiency is the third pillar. Energy-efficient impact windows with contemporary low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while protecting noticeable light. That indicates less cooling demand, specifically on west and south exposures where the afternoon sun penalizes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we replaced 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E impact systems. Summertime afternoon peak load stopped by approximately a lots of cooling, and the home's yearly electricity usage fell between 12 and 18 percent. Results differ with shading, attic insulation, and a/c effectiveness, but the direction is consistent.
Laminated impact glass is the heart of the system, however not all laminated items are equal.
Most property cyclone windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, frequently 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 might see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, enabling thinner sections to accomplish higher design pressures. For noise-sensitive sites, acoustic PVB solutions tweak the polymer to much better take in sound in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz range, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows turn up frequently in discussions due to the fact that tempered glass is more powerful in bending than annealed glass. That holds true, and tempered lites are frequently utilized as the external or inner ply in an impact unit. However tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the typhoon sense. When it fails, it explodes into little cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening vulnerable. The effect performance originates from laminated building and construction, not tempering by itself. Lots of systems use a tempered external lite laminated to an annealed inner lite, or both tempered, but always bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E finishings matter for comfort. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida typically targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 range while keeping noticeable 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 area depends upon your exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I frequently tighten SHGC and accept a small tint to manage morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I lean toward greater visible transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames control here since they deal with big openings and will not swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have high-quality impact windows actually narrowed the energy space with vinyl. High-quality vinyl impact frames, when reinforced correctly, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have better insulating worths, but I avoid them for very large sliders or high storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad systems look stunning in older Mediterranean Revival homes, however they require cautious upkeep and smart flashing. The Florida sun destroys inexpensive vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum finishes quickly. Look for powder-coated surfaces rated for seaside exposure, and demand composed guarantee details in salt-air environments.
Window setup can make or break efficiency. An expensive unit installed Boca Raton hurricane proof window installation like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's tension test. The load course is the crux. Impact 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 concrete block building, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong product. 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 houses, structural screws should bite into strong trimmers, not simply sheathing. Shimming and plumb alignment matter so the locks engage easily and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not just aesthetic. A properly sized backer rod and premium polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant develop a durable, versatile seal that handles thermal growth. Too small a bead and it tears under motion. Too big and it remedies improperly. On coastal jobs, I never 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 crucial. If you depend on sealant alone, water will find its way in. That wetness might disappoint up as a drip. It might rot a sill plate gradually, then betray itself as a buckling flooring or a moldy odor 2 typhoon seasons later.
I have absolutely nothing against properly designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are preserved and oiled, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels stored carefully can secure homes effectively. They also help in specific cases.
Second homes or seasonal rentals where spending plan is tight in some cases lean on shutters to fulfill the Florida building code windows requirement for protected openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is seldom used in summer season, a tidy motorized roll-down can be reasonable, particularly if coupling with effect doors and windows elsewhere worries the budget. For house owners who plan 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 released, and they require action at precisely the time you are juggling insurance papers, gas cans, and family logistics. Throughout Hurricane Irma, I watched a next-door neighbor attempt to mount 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 survived with stitches. His living-room window did not. Shutters also rattle and can vibrate under continual winds, often loosening fasteners in time if not maintained.
For long-term owners who want to set it and forget it, impact windows offer typhoon proof windows protection while protecting daylight and view. The benefit grows valuable once you have actually experienced one storm season with absolutely no prep beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes fight 2 battles: latent load from humidity and practical 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 show infrared energy while letting noticeable light through. With the right covering stacks, you can obstruct a big portion of convected heat and UV. UV clog in laminated systems comes mostly from the interlayer itself, which normally filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, reducing fading of materials and floor covering. Add the low-E, and you suppress the solar heat that drives your air conditioning crazy 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 reducing nighttime heat flow and keeping the interior glass temperature closer to room temperature level, which minimizes condensation danger. SHGC drives just how much solar heat gets in. VT affects how intense the interior feels. Balance is key. Some homeowners desire the crisp, clear appearance of greater VT, even if it implies accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, because their landscaping and roof overhangs currently do some shading. Others choose a more powerful tint for glare control on waterfront lots that show extreme light.
In practical terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to modern-day low-E laminated double-glazed systems can minimize peak solar gains by 30 to 50 percent on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored outside finishes, and a correctly sized variable-speed a/c, and you begin to construct resilience. If the grid decreases and you switch to a generator, a lower cooling load suggests a smaller sized generator and less gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance, or NOA, is the document you request. It details the approved setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures checked. It is not enough to hear "these are Miami-Dade approved windows" in a display room. Confirm the NOA matches the precise design and alternatives you are purchasing, including the glazing makeup and hardware. If you are in Broward or Miami-Dade, your permitting office will want this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Item Approval system provides FL numbers that show code compliance. In the remainder of the state outside the High Speed Hurricane Zone, Florida building code windows can depend on Florida Item Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Numerous top manufacturers carry both. Where spending plans permit, I prefer NOA products even outside the zone since the testing is stiffer.
NFRC labels handle energy metrics. They will not tell you impact efficiency, but they show U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leak. Go for air leak at or listed below 0.3 cfm/ft TWO. Tighter is much better for humidity control, however make sure your home still has actually balanced ventilation. Sealing the envelope and neglecting 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 vary with size, shape, finish, and access. On straightforward single-family homes, per-opening costs often land between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for basic sizes. Big multi-panel sliders, custom-made arches, and coastal-grade surfaces raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recoup value:
If you plan to own the home for five years or more, the mathematics often tilts in favor of effect windows, particularly when you factor the intangible of comfort. If you plan to offer within a year and require to reveal compliance rapidly, shutters may make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I take note of hardware and devices. Multi-point locks on casements and awnings enhance seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless real estates slide smoother and last longer on sandy patios. Take a look at the sill style on moving doors. Weep systems should be engineered to drain pipes 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 style. Reflective films can run afoul of neighborhood associations or produce mirror-like glare toward neighboring properties. In seaside environments, highly reflective glass can puzzle birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Regional pros know which coatings balance efficiency with compliance.
Color stability is a big offer. Dark bronze or black frames look wonderful on modern-day homes, but in Florida sun inexpensive finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coatings provide the best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for coastal exposures whenever spending plans allow.
Historic districts often require profiles that imitate old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, but lead times lengthen and costs climb. Expect additional evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a professional familiar with these submissions.

Condos have another layer of governance. Associations often specify a narrow list of approved products for harmony. They likewise appreciate sound control in between units. If your structure sits straight on Collins Avenue or deals with a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated choices. Work with structure management on staging and lift access. Weekend work windows and minimal parking can include days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, require special attention in design pressure, deflection, and operating hardware. Not every unit that looks sturdy in a showroom meets the wind loads on a ninth-floor veranda. Do not count on brochure optimum sizes. Use the NOA tables that correspond to your site's zone, positive and negative pressures, and mullion mixes if any.

The finest jobs start with a determined study and exposure analysis. You map each opening, keep in mind the substrate, and recognize any framing irregularities or settlement fractures. Throughout proposal, the professional reveals you the NOA and the Florida Product Approval, notes anchor types, and describes how each opening will be flashed and sealed. They plan for stucco or drywall repairs, not pretend no damage will occur.
On set up day, they remove one opening at a time to keep your house secure. They protect floors, draw back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames bring out care to protect interior surfaces. New systems get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The team checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They picture anchors for the license file, especially if they will be hidden. After glazing, they water-test with a regulated spray to verify drain courses and seals. The inspector sees a cool jobsite, clear labels, and paperwork in order.
Six months later on, your windows still close with two 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 score does not equivalent breakproof. Laminated glass can break under severe effects, however it needs to remain in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends out debris 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 convert non-impact windows into hurricane impact-resistant windows. They can include shatter resistance, however they do not replacement for a checked, anchored system. Your insurance provider and building department will not count movies as secured openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient effect windows reduce air leakage. That's terrific, however it increases the value of an effectively sized HVAC with good dehumidification. If your system is oversized, the thermostat satisfies rapidly and fails to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your a/c pro to check practical heat ratio, airflow, and run time. You want stable, longer cycles, not brief bursts.
Maintenance is uncomplicated but not optional. Clean weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and oil 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 solutions. A pair of rarely used garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave budget plan. A deep-set deck with very little sun direct exposure may do great with accordion shutters if you prioritize other upgrades like a brand-new roofing system deck accessory or a prepared garage door. Shutters can also secure outdoor kitchen areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age expensive hardware prematurely.
If you select shutters, invest in quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with handbook bypasses for roll-downs make a difference. Appoint obligation for release and practice as soon as beyond a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you need 32 wing nuts is not the early morning you wish to find you have 29.
Impact windows are not just about surviving the big one. They improve daily living. The living-room stays cooler and quieter. The air conditioner 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 concentrate on individuals rather than panels.
For much of my customers, that intangible is the deciding factor. They understand storms will come. They also understand life in South Florida is too great to live inside a fortress that only wakes up in August. Miami-Dade approved windows offer you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February morning and peaceful self-confidence when the spaghetti models point our method September.
If you are weighing the choice, start with a site-specific assessment. Match your direct exposures to create pressures, choose the right laminated glass stack for wind and heat, select frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and work with a crew that respects the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient impact windows deliver what shutters can not: security that never ever asks for a ladder and a much better home every day of the year.