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 routine of carrying ladders to install panels. After 20 years defining, installing, and troubleshooting building envelopes from Key Largo to Palm Beach, I've seen what holds up and what doesn't. When the goal is real security with year-round convenience, Miami-Dade approved, energy‑efficient impact windows outshine shutters in manner ins which surpass storm day. They alter how a home feels in August, how peaceful 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 lots of South Florida house owners are moving from shutters to typhoon impact-resistant windows, how to check out the requirements behind "Miami-Dade authorized," what products matter, and how to get the setup right the first time.
Miami-Dade County's Item Control Division sets one of the hardest criteria in the country for building parts exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker label. It is earned through specific laboratory tests that imitate real cyclone conditions.
First comes large missile effect. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at the glass at approximately 34 miles per hour. That mimics roofing system tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the effect, the very same system faces cyclic pressure loading, thousands of pressurization and depressurization cycles that imitate rapid wind gusts over hours. If the glass remains in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The distinction between "meets Florida building code windows" and "Miami-Dade approved windows" typically resides in these test limits. Miami-Dade is simply stiffer, especially in High Velocity Typhoon Zone requirements, which include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind scores differ by opening size and style pressures, Home hardening upgrades denoted as PSF values. On ocean-facing residential or commercial properties or high-rises, I frequently define units rated at +60/ -80 PSF or greater. Inland or in more safeguarded exposures, rankings in the +45/ -60 PSF range can suffice, but you size and spec based on the website's wind map, developing height, and surrounding structures. An expert knows that a corner exposure at the 2nd 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 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, 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 security, 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: 2 panes of glass bonded by a durable interlayer, generally PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps sound. On jobs along hectic corridors like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight courses, I have actually determined interior sound drops in the 5 to 10 decibel variety, often more when paired with insulated glass units.
Security enhances since laminated glass withstands required entry. An intruder can shatter the outer lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the shards. They meet a sticky, persistent membrane rather of a quick course inside. Insurance coverage underwriters understand this, which is why policies typically offer credits for impact windows and doors. In my tasks, premiums usually drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the provider and the number of openings are protected.
Energy efficiency is the 3rd pillar. Energy-efficient impact windows with modern-day low-E impact glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while maintaining visible light. That indicates less a/c demand, particularly 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 effect systems. Summertime afternoon peak load dropped by approximately a ton of cooling, and the home's yearly electrical energy use fell in between 12 and 18 percent. Results vary with shading, attic insulation, and heating and cooling effectiveness, however the direction is consistent.
Laminated impact glass is the heart of the system, however not all laminated products are equal.

Most property cyclone windows utilize a PVB interlayer glass stack, typically 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or numerous plies. Thicker interlayers enhance impact resistance and sound control, but they include weight and cost. For oceanfront or tall openings, you may see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, enabling thinner sections to achieve greater design pressures. For noise-sensitive sites, acoustic PVB formulas modify the polymer to better soak up noise in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz variety, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows come up typically in conversations due to the fact that tempered glass is stronger in bending than annealed glass. That holds true, and tempered lites are typically used as the external or inner ply in an impact system. However tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the hurricane sense. When it stops working, it takes off into small cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening susceptible. The effect performance originates from laminated building, not tempering by itself. Lots of systems use a tempered outer lite laminated to a hardened 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 usually targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 range while keeping visible light transmission around half or higher. Go too low on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, particularly in bigger openings. The sweet area depends upon your exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I often tighten SHGC and accept a small tint to manage 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 due to the fact that they deal with large openings and will not swell. Thermal breaks and enhanced glazing gaskets have actually narrowed the energy gap with vinyl. Top quality vinyl effect frames, when reinforced appropriately, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have much better insulating worths, but I prevent them for extremely broad sliders or tall 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 destroys cheap vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum finishes rapidly. Try to find powder-coated surfaces ranked for seaside exposure, and request written guarantee details in salt-air environments.
Window setup can make or break performance. A pricey system set up like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's tension test. The load path is the core. Effect forces have to take a trip from the glass through the frame, to the anchors, into the substrate, and then into the structure's framing or masonry.
In cinder block construction, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong product. Hollow cells need to be grouted or you need to hit the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to happen. In wood-framed houses, structural screws should bite into solid trimmers, not just 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 top quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant produce a durable, versatile seal that deals with thermal expansion. Too little a bead and it tears under movement. Too big and it treatments inadequately. On seaside jobs, I never ever pair dissimilar metals without a barrier, and I constantly 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 essential. If you count on sealant alone, water will find its way in. That wetness might disappoint up as a drip. It may rot a sill plate slowly, then betray itself as a buckling flooring or a musty smell two cyclone seasons later.
I have nothing versus well-designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are preserved and lubed, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels kept thoroughly can secure homes effectively. They also help in certain cases.
Second homes or seasonal leasings where spending plan is tight sometimes lean on shutters to fulfill the Florida building regulations windows requirement for secured openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is rarely utilized in summer, a clean motorized roll-down can be reasonable, specifically if coupling with impact windows and doors somewhere else stresses the budget plan. For property 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 your home when released, 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 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 continual winds, sometimes loosening up fasteners with time if not maintained.
For long-lasting owners who wish to set it and forget it, effect windows provide typhoon evidence windows coverage while preserving daytime and view. The benefit grows important once you have actually experienced one storm season with absolutely no prep beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes combat two battles: latent load from humidity and sensible load from direct solar heat gain. Effect glass upgrades can assist both if specified intelligently.
Low-E impact glass utilizes microscopically thin metal layers to reflect infrared energy while letting noticeable light through. With the best covering stacks, you can block a large portion of radiant heat and UV. UV blockage in laminated units comes mainly from the interlayer itself, which generally filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, reducing fading of fabrics and flooring. Add the low-E, and you curb the solar heat that drives your a/c insane midafternoon.
I examine glass specs with 3 numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still assists here by minimizing nighttime heat circulation and keeping the interior glass temperature level closer to room temperature, which decreases condensation danger. SHGC drives how much solar heat enters. VT influences how brilliant the interior feels. Balance is key. Some house owners desire the crisp, clear look of greater VT, even if it means accepting a few degrees more heat in late afternoon, due to the fact that their landscaping and roofing overhangs already do some shading. Others choose a stronger tint for glare control on waterside lots that show extreme light.
In useful terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to contemporary 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 a/c, and you begin to develop strength. If the grid goes down and you switch to a generator, a lower cooling load implies a smaller generator and less gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notification of Acceptance, or NOA, is the document you request. It details the approved configurations, sizes, anchors, and pressures checked. It is inadequate to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" in a display room. Verify the NOA matches the specific design and alternatives you are buying, consisting of the glazing makeup and hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your permitting office will desire this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Item Approval system supplies FL numbers that show code compliance. In the remainder of the state outside the High Velocity Typhoon Zone, Florida building code windows can rely on Florida Product Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Many leading producers carry both. Where budget plans allow, I choose NOA products even outside the zone since the testing is stiffer.
NFRC labels deal with energy metrics. They won't tell you impact efficiency, however they show U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leakage. Aim for air leak at or below 0.3 cfm/ft ². Tighter is much better for humidity control, but ensure your home still has balanced ventilation. Sealing the envelope and disregarding fresh air is a recipe for indoor air quality complaints.
Impact windows cost more upfront than shutters. There's no spin around that. Set up costs differ with size, shape, surface, and gain access to. On straightforward single-family homes, per-opening expenses often land between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for standard sizes. Large multi-panel sliders, customized arches, and coastal-grade finishes raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recoup worth:
If you plan to own the residential or commercial property for 5 years or more, the math typically tilts in favor of effect windows, particularly when you factor the intangible of peace of mind. If you plan to sell within a year and require to show compliance rapidly, shutters may make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I take note of hardware and accessories. Multi-point locks on casements and awnings enhance seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless real estates glide smoother and last longer on sandy patio areas. Look at the sill style on moving doors. Weep systems ought to be engineered to drain pipes heavy tempered glass balcony 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 contravene of neighborhood watch or produce mirror-like glare towards neighboring properties. In seaside ecosystems, highly reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Local pros know which coatings balance efficiency with compliance.
Color stability is a huge deal. Dark bronze or black frames look wonderful on modern-day homes, however in Florida sun cheap surfaces chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated finishings supply the very best color retention and chalk resistance. I specify them for seaside direct exposures whenever budget 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 review by architectural boards, and line up a professional acquainted with these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations sometimes define a narrow list of approved items for uniformity. They likewise care about noise control between systems. If your structure sits directly on Collins Avenue or faces a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated options. Deal with structure management on staging and lift gain access to. Weekend work windows and restricted parking can add days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, need special 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 veranda. Do not depend on catalog optimum sizes. Utilize the NOA tables that represent your site's zone, positive and unfavorable pressures, and mullion combinations if any.
The finest projects begin with a measured survey and exposure analysis. You map each opening, note the substrate, and identify any framing abnormalities or settlement fractures. During proposal, the professional shows you the NOA and the Florida Product Approval, lists anchor types, and explains how each opening will be flashed and sealed. They plan for stucco or drywall repair work, not pretend no damage will occur.
On install day, they eliminate one opening at a time to keep your house safe. They protect floorings, draw back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames bring out care to preserve interior finishes. 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, specifically if they will be concealed. After glazing, they water-test with a regulated spray to validate drainage paths and seals. The inspector sees a neat jobsite, clear labels, and documents in order.
Six months later on, your windows still close with 2 fingers, locks bite efficiently, and there is no mystery rattle during thunderstorms. You did not have to call for a roller modification after the first week. That is the standard.
Impact ranking does not equal breakproof. Laminated glass can break under serious effects, however it must remain in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends debris into the glass, you might 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 cyclone impact-resistant windows. They can include shatter resistance, but they do not replacement for a tested, anchored system. Your insurance company and building department will not count movies as safeguarded openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient effect windows lower air leakage. That's excellent, however it increases the significance of an appropriately sized HVAC with excellent dehumidification. If your system is large, the thermostat satisfies quickly and stops working to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your HVAC pro to examine sensible heat ratio, airflow, and run time. You desire consistent, longer cycles, not brief bursts.
Maintenance is simple but not optional. Clean weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lube hardware every year with a silicone-based product that will not gum up in heat. Small practices extend lifespan.
There are genuine factors to mix services. A set of seldom used garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave budget. A deep-set patio with very little sun exposure may do great with accordion shutters if you focus on other upgrades like a new roofing deck attachment or a prepared garage door. Shutters can also safeguard outdoor kitchen areas 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 manual bypasses for roll-downs make a distinction. Appoint obligation for deployment and practice once beyond a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you need 32 wing nuts is not the morning you want to discover you have 29.
Impact windows are not just about making it through the huge one. They improve daily living. The living-room remains cooler and quieter. The AC 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 typhoon threatens, your preparation list gets shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and focus on individuals rather than panels.
For many of my clients, that intangible is the deciding aspect. They understand storms will come. They also understand life in South Florida is too good to live inside a fortress that just wakes up in August. Miami-Dade approved windows offer you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February early morning and peaceful confidence when the spaghetti models point our way in September.
If you are weighing the choice, begin with a site-specific evaluation. Match your direct exposures to develop pressures, choose the right laminated glass stack for wind and heat, select frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and hire a team that respects the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient impact windows provide what shutters can not: security that never ever requests for a ladder and a better home every day of the year.