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 carrying ladders to mount panels. After two decades defining, setting up, and repairing building envelopes from Secret Largo to Palm Beach, I have actually seen what holds up and what doesn't. When the objective is genuine protection with year-round comfort, Miami-Dade authorized, energy‑efficient impact windows surpass shutters in ways that go beyond storm day. They change 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 much faster than predicted.
This is a practical look at why numerous South Florida property owners are moving from shutters to typhoon impact-resistant windows, how to check out the standards behind "Miami-Dade authorized," what products matter, and how to get the setup right the first time.
Miami-Dade County's Item Control Division sets one of the hardest criteria in the nation for constructing parts exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is made through particular laboratory tests that mimic real hurricane conditions.
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First comes big missile 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 effect, the same system faces cyclic pressure loading, thousands of pressurization and depressurization cycles that imitate quick wind gusts over hours. If the glass stays in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The difference in between "fulfills Florida building regulations windows" and "Miami-Dade authorized windows" often lives in these test limits. Miami-Dade is just stiffer, particularly in High Speed Typhoon Zone requirements, which include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind scores differ by opening size and design pressures, signified as PSF worths. On ocean-facing properties or high-rises, I often define systems rated at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more safeguarded direct exposures, ratings in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can suffice, however you size and spec based upon the website's wind map, developing height, and surrounding structures. An expert understands that a corner exposure at the 2nd story demands various support than a sheltered window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs effect windows is not a one-to-one contrast. Shutters can fulfill code, and they're 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 projection 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 continuous security, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on US 1. You also get advantages every day of the year.
Noise control is the most underappreciated benefit. Laminated impact glass is basically a sandwich: 2 panes of glass bonded by a durable interlayer, usually PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps sound. On tasks along hectic corridors like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight paths, I have actually measured interior noise drops in the 5 to 10 decibel range, in some cases more when paired with insulated glass units.
Security enhances since laminated glass withstands required entry. A robber can shatter the outer lite with a hammer, however the interlayer holds the shards. They meet a sticky, stubborn membrane rather of a fast path inside. Insurance underwriters know this, which is why policies often provide credits for effect doors and windows. In my jobs, premiums normally drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the carrier and the number of openings are protected.
Energy performance is the 3rd pillar. Energy-efficient effect windows with modern-day low-E impact glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while protecting noticeable light. That suggests less a/c demand, especially on west and south direct exposures where the afternoon sun penalizes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we changed 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E impact systems. Summer afternoon peak load visited roughly a ton of cooling, and the home's annual electricity use fell between 12 and 18 percent. Results differ with shading, attic insulation, and a/c efficiency, but the instructions is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, however not all laminated items are equal.
Most residential cyclone windows utilize a PVB interlayer glass stack, commonly 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or several plies. Thicker interlayers enhance effect resistance and sound control, however they add weight and expense. For oceanfront or high openings, you might see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and more powerful than PVB, permitting thinner areas to attain greater style pressures. For noise-sensitive websites, acoustic PVB solutions tweak the polymer to better take in sound in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz variety, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows show up typically in conversations because tempered glass is stronger in flexing 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 cyclone sense. When it stops working, it explodes into small cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening vulnerable. The impact efficiency comes from laminated construction, not tempering by itself. Many systems utilize a tempered external lite laminated to a hardened inner lite, or both tempered, however constantly bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E finishes matter for comfort. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida normally targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 range while keeping visible light transmission around 50 percent or higher. Go too short on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, specifically in larger openings. The sweet area depends upon your exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I frequently tighten up SHGC and accept a minor tint to manage early morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I favor higher noticeable transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames dominate here since they handle 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 strengthened appropriately, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have much better insulating values, but I avoid them for very large sliders or high storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look beautiful in older Mediterranean Revival homes, however they demand cautious maintenance and wise flashing. The Florida sun destroys cheap vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum finishes rapidly. Try to find powder-coated finishes rated for seaside direct exposure, and request written warranty information in salt-air environments.
Window installation can make or break performance. An expensive system set up like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's tension test. The load course is the core. Effect forces need to take a trip from the maintenance hurricane shutters glass through the frame, to the anchors, into the substrate, and after that into the structure's framing or masonry.
In cinder block building and construction, you desire stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into solid product. Hollow cells must be grouted or you need to hit the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to happen. In wood-framed homes, structural screws must bite into solid trimmers, not simply sheathing. Shimming and plumb positioning matter so the locks engage cleanly and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not just visual. A correctly sized backer rod and top quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant create a durable, flexible seal that handles thermal expansion. Too Category 5 hurricane windows little a bead and it tears under motion. Too big and it cures poorly. On coastal tasks, I never pair dissimilar 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 integration with the water-resistive barrier are important. If you count on sealant alone, water will find its method. That moisture may not show up as a drip. It may rot a sill plate slowly, then betray itself as a buckling flooring or a musty smell 2 typhoon seasons later.
I have absolutely nothing against properly designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are kept and lubricated, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels stored carefully can secure homes successfully. They likewise assist in particular cases.
Second homes or seasonal rentals where spending 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 rarely used in summer season, a tidy motorized roll-down can be affordable, especially if coupling with impact windows and doors in other places stresses the spending plan. For house owners who prepare to move within a year, shutters can be a short bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring trade-offs. They darken your home when released, and they need action at exactly the time you are handling insurance coverage documents, gas cans, and family logistics. During Cyclone Irma, I saw a neighbor try to install steel panels hours before landfall. The ladder sank in saturated soil, a panel slipped, and we spent the next hour in the urgent care waiting room. He made it through with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters likewise rattle and can vibrate under continual winds, in some cases loosening fasteners with time if not maintained.
For long-lasting owners who want to set it and forget it, impact windows provide typhoon proof windows coverage while protecting daylight and view. The benefit grows valuable once you've experienced one storm season with zero prep beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes fight 2 fights: latent load from humidity and reasonable load from direct solar heat gain. Impact glass upgrades can help both if specified intelligently.
Low-E effect glass utilizes microscopically thin metal layers to show infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the ideal covering stacks, you can obstruct a big portion of convected heat and UV. UV obstruction in laminated units comes largely from the interlayer itself, which normally filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, decreasing fading of fabrics and floor covering. Include the low-E, and you curb the solar heat that drives your a/c crazy midafternoon.
I assess glass specs with three numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still helps here by lowering nighttime heat circulation and keeping the interior glass temperature level closer to room temperature level, which decreases condensation threat. SHGC drives just how much solar heat enters. VT affects how intense the interior feels. Balance is essential. Some property owners desire the crisp, clear appearance of greater VT, even if it indicates accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, because their landscaping and roofing system overhangs currently do some shading. Others prefer a more powerful tint for glare control on waterfront lots that show severe light.
In useful 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 an effectively sized variable-speed heating and cooling, and you begin to build resilience. If the grid decreases and you switch to a generator, a lower cooling load implies a smaller sized generator and fewer gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notification of Approval, or NOA, is the file you request for. It information the approved configurations, sizes, anchors, and pressures evaluated. It is not enough to hear "these are Miami-Dade approved windows" in a showroom. Confirm the NOA matches the precise design and choices you are purchasing, consisting of the glazing makeup and hardware. If you are in Broward or Miami-Dade, your allowing workplace will want this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Item Approval system offers FL numbers that show code compliance. In the rest of the state outside the High Speed Hurricane Zone, Florida building code windows can count on Florida Product Approval without Miami-Dade particular NOAs. Lots of top producers bring both. Where budgets permit, I prefer NOA products even outside the zone because the testing is stiffer.
NFRC labels deal with energy metrics. They won't inform you impact performance, however they show U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leakage. Aim for air leak at or listed below 0.3 cfm/ft TWO. Tighter is much better for humidity control, but ensure your home still has balanced ventilation. Sealing the envelope and ignoring fresh air is a dish for indoor air quality complaints.
Impact windows cost more upfront than shutters. There's no spin around that. Installed costs vary with size, shape, finish, and gain access to. On straightforward single-family homes, per-opening expenses frequently land in between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for basic sizes. Big multi-panel sliders, customized arches, and coastal-grade surfaces raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recover worth:
If you plan to own the residential or commercial property for five years or more, the math frequently tilts in favor of impact windows, especially when you factor the intangible of peace of mind. If you plan to offer within a year and require to reveal compliance quickly, shutters may make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I take notice of hardware and accessories. Multi-point locks on sashes and awnings improve seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless real estates move smoother and last longer on sandy patio areas. Take a look at the sill style on sliding doors. Weep systems must 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 style. Reflective films can contravene of neighborhood watch or produce mirror-like glare towards neighboring homes. In seaside environments, extremely reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Local pros know which coverings balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a big offer. Dark bronze or black frames look wonderful on contemporary homes, but in Florida sun low-cost surfaces chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coverings offer the best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for coastal direct exposures whenever spending plans allow.
Historic districts frequently require profiles that mimic old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, but lead times extend and costs climb. Anticipate extra evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a contractor knowledgeable about these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations in some cases specify a narrow list of authorized products for uniformity. They likewise appreciate noise control in between units. If your building sits directly on Collins Avenue or deals with a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated choices. Work with building management on staging and lift gain access to. Weekend work windows and minimal parking can add days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, need special attention in design pressure, deflection, and operating hardware. Not every system that looks tough in a display room fulfills the wind loads on a ninth-floor veranda. Do not count on catalog optimum sizes. Utilize the NOA tables that represent your website's zone, favorable and unfavorable pressures, and mullion combinations if any.
The best jobs begin with noise reduction windows a measured study and exposure analysis. You map each opening, note the substrate, and recognize any framing irregularities or settlement cracks. Throughout proposition, the specialist shows you the NOA and the Florida Item 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 install day, they eliminate one opening at a time to keep your home protected. They protect floors, pull back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames bring out care to preserve interior finishes. New units get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The crew checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photo anchors for the permit file, particularly if they will be hidden. After glazing, they water-test with a regulated spray to verify drainage paths and seals. The inspector sees a cool jobsite, clear labels, and documents in order.
Six months later on, your windows still close with two fingers, locks bite efficiently, and there is no secret rattle during thunderstorms. DIY vs professional window installation You did not have to require a roller change after the very first week. That is the standard.
Impact rating does not equivalent breakproof. Laminated glass can break under serious effects, however it must stay in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends out debris into the glass, you might see star fractures or spidering. The window did its job. Change the sash or IGU after the event.
Window movies do not transform non-impact windows into typhoon impact-resistant windows. They can include shatter resistance, but they do not substitute for an evaluated, anchored system. Your insurer and structure department will not count movies as protected openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient effect windows lower air leakage. That's fantastic, but it increases the importance of an effectively sized a/c with good dehumidification. If your system is oversized, the thermostat satisfies rapidly and fails to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your heating and cooling pro to examine practical heat ratio, air flow, and run time. You desire constant, longer cycles, not brief 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 practices extend lifespan.
There are genuine factors to blend solutions. A pair of hardly ever utilized garage windows can keep removable panels to shave budget plan. A deep-set deck with very little sun exposure may do fine with accordion shutters if you focus on other upgrades like a brand-new roof deck attachment or a prepared garage door. Shutters can also secure outside cooking areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age elegant hardware prematurely.

If you choose shutters, buy quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with manual bypasses for roll-downs make a difference. Designate obligation for implementation and practice as soon as outside of a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you require 32 wing nuts is not the morning you wish to find you have 29.
Impact windows are not only about making it through the big one. They improve daily living. The living room stays cooler and quieter. The a/c cycles calmly rather 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 shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and focus on people rather than panels.
For many of my clients, that intangible is the choosing factor. They understand storms will come. They likewise understand life in South Florida is too great to live inside a fortress that just wakes up in August. Miami-Dade authorized windows offer you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February morning and quiet self-confidence when the spaghetti designs point our method September.
If you are weighing the option, start with a site-specific assessment. Match your exposures to create pressures, pick the best 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: defense that never requests for a ladder and a better home every day of the year.