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 next-door neighbors track tropical waves, the pre-storm rush to stockpile, and the routine of carrying ladders to mount panels. After twenty years defining, installing, and fixing structure envelopes from Secret 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 approved, energy‑efficient effect windows surpass shutters in ways that surpass storm day. They change how a home feels in August, how quiet your living-room stays on a Saturday night, and new construction windows how positive you are when a storm line spins up quicker than predicted.
This is a useful look at why lots of South Florida property owners are moving from shutters to hurricane impact-resistant windows, how to check out the standards behind "Miami-Dade approved," what materials matter, and how to get the installation right the very first time.
Miami-Dade County's Item Control Department sets one of the most difficult benchmarks in the country for building elements exposed to windborne particles. Approval is not a marketing sticker label. It is earned through specific laboratory tests that imitate genuine typhoon conditions.
First comes big rocket impact. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at the glass at approximately 34 miles per hour. That mimics roofing tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the impact, the very same unit deals with cyclic pressure loading, thousands of pressurization and depressurization cycles that mimic quick 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" often resides in these test limits. Miami-Dade is simply stiffer, especially in High Speed Cyclone Zone requirements, which include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind ratings differ by opening size and design pressures, denoted as PSF worths. On ocean-facing residential or commercial properties or high-rises, I frequently specify systems ranked at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more secured direct exposures, ratings in the +45/ -60 PSF range can be enough, however you size and spec based on the site's wind map, building height, and surrounding structures. A professional understands that a corner direct exposure at the 2nd story demands various support than a protected window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs effect windows is not a one-to-one contrast. Shutters can satisfy code, and they're better than nothing. But they ask you to do work at the worst possible time. When a watch turns to a caution and the projection track tightens, the last thing you desire is a ladder, a dead cordless drill, and a missing wing nut.
Impact windows live in location. You get continuous 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 impact glass is essentially a sandwich: two panes of glass bonded by a durable interlayer, usually PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps noise. On tasks along busy passages like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight courses, I've determined interior sound drops in the 5 to 10 decibel variety, sometimes more when coupled with insulated glass units.
Security improves due to the fact that laminated glass resists forced entry. A robber can shatter the external lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the fragments. They fulfill a sticky, stubborn membrane rather of a quick path inside. Insurance coverage underwriters know this, which is why policies often offer credits for effect doors and windows. In my tasks, premiums normally drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the carrier and how many openings are protected.
Energy performance is the third pillar. Energy-efficient impact windows with contemporary low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while preserving visible light. That suggests less air conditioning demand, particularly on west and south direct exposures where the afternoon sun punishes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we changed 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E effect units. Summertime afternoon peak load come by approximately a lots of cooling, and the home's annual electricity use fell between 12 and 18 percent. Results vary with shading, attic insulation, and heating and cooling efficiency, but the instructions is consistent.
Laminated impact glass is the heart of the system, however not all laminated products are equal.
Most domestic hurricane windows utilize a PVB interlayer glass stack, typically 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or multiple plies. Thicker interlayers enhance impact resistance and sound control, but they add weight and cost. For oceanfront or high openings, you might see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and more powerful than PVB, enabling thinner sections to achieve greater style pressures. For noise-sensitive websites, acoustic PVB solutions tweak the polymer to much better take in noise in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz variety, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows turn up often in conversations because tempered glass is more powerful in flexing than annealed glass. That holds true, and tempered lites are typically utilized as the outer or inner ply in an effect unit. But 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 impact performance tempered glass replacement comes from laminated construction, not tempering by itself. Lots of systems use a tempered outer lite laminated to an annealed inner lite, or both tempered, but constantly bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E coatings 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 50 percent or higher. Go too low on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, especially in bigger openings. The sweet spot depends upon your exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I typically tighten SHGC and accept a minor tint to handle morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I lean toward higher noticeable transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames control here since they manage big openings and won't swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy gap with vinyl. Top quality vinyl impact frames, when strengthened correctly, can perform well for standard-sized openings and have better insulating values, however I avoid them for extremely large sliders or high storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look lovely in older Mediterranean Revival homes, however they require cautious upkeep and clever flashing. The Florida sun damages low-cost vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum finishes rapidly. Try to find powder-coated finishes rated for seaside exposure, and demand composed guarantee details in salt-air environments.
Window installation can make or break efficiency. An expensive system installed like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's tension test. The load path is the essence. Impact forces have to take a trip from the glass through the frame, to the anchors, into the substrate, and after that into the structure's framing or masonry.
In cinder block building and construction, you desire stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong product. Hollow cells should be grouted or you need to strike the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to take place. In wood-framed homes, structural screws should bite into strong trimmers, not simply sheathing. Shimming and plumb positioning matter so the locks engage cleanly and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not simply aesthetic. An effectively sized backer rod and high-quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant produce a resilient, flexible seal that manages thermal growth. Too small a bead and it tears under motion. Too huge and it treatments improperly. On seaside tasks, I never ever combine dissimilar metals without a barrier, and I always specify corrosion-resistant fasteners. Ten years later on, you will see who took shortcuts.
Flashing is the other non-negotiable. Pan flashing at sills, self-adhered membranes at jambs and heads, and combination with the water-resistive barrier are vital. If you count on sealant alone, water will discover its way in. That moisture may disappoint up as a drip. It might rot a sill plate slowly, then betray itself as a buckling flooring or a musty smell two cyclone seasons later.
I have absolutely nothing against well-designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are preserved and lubricated, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels saved thoroughly can secure homes efficiently. They likewise assist in specific cases.
Second homes or seasonal rentals where budget plan is tight sometimes lean on shutters to meet the Florida building regulations windows requirement for secured openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is seldom utilized in summertime, a tidy motorized roll-down can be affordable, especially if coupling with impact doors and windows elsewhere worries the spending plan. For homeowners who plan to move within a year, shutters can be a brief bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring trade-offs. They darken your house when deployed, and they require action at specifically the time you are juggling insurance documents, gas cans, and family logistics. During Typhoon Irma, I viewed a next-door neighbor attempt to mount 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 space. He endured with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters likewise rattle and can vibrate under sustained winds, in some cases loosening up fasteners with time if not maintained.
For long-term owners who wish to set it and forget it, impact windows give typhoon proof windows coverage while protecting daylight and view. The benefit grows important once you've experienced one storm season with no preparation beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes combat two battles: hidden load from humidity and practical load from direct solar heat gain. Impact glass upgrades can assist both if defined intelligently.
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Low-E effect glass uses microscopically thin metallic layers to reflect infrared energy while letting noticeable light through. With the right finish stacks, you can obstruct a large portion of radiant heat and UV. UV clog in laminated units comes mainly from the interlayer itself, which typically filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, reducing fading of materials and flooring. Add the low-E, and you curb the solar heat that drives your AC 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 minimizing nighttime heat circulation and keeping the interior glass temperature closer to room temperature, which lowers condensation risk. SHGC drives just how much solar heat goes into. VT influences how brilliant the interior feels. Balance is crucial. Some house owners want the crisp, clear look of greater VT, even if it means accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, because their landscaping and roofing system overhangs already do some shading. Others prefer a stronger tint for glare control on waterfront lots that reflect extreme light.
In useful terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to modern low-E laminated double-glazed systems can minimize peak solar gains by 30 to half on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored outside surfaces, and a correctly sized variable-speed a/c, and you start to build durability. If the grid decreases and you change to a generator, a lower cooling load suggests a smaller generator and less gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance, or NOA, is the document you request for. It details the authorized configurations, sizes, anchors, and pressures evaluated. It is inadequate to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" in a showroom. Confirm the NOA matches the precise model and choices you are purchasing, including the glazing makeup and hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your permitting office will want this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Item Approval system offers FL numbers that show code compliance. In the remainder of the state outside the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, Florida building regulations windows can rely on Florida Product Approval without Miami-Dade particular NOAs. Lots of leading makers carry both. Where budget plans enable, I choose NOA items even outside the zone due to the fact that the testing is stiffer.
NFRC labels deal with energy metrics. They will not inform you effect efficiency, however they show U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leak. Go for air leakage at or below 0.3 cfm/ft TWO. Tighter is much better for humidity control, however make certain your home still has actually 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 differ with size, shape, surface, and gain access to. On uncomplicated single-family homes, per-opening costs frequently land between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for basic sizes. Big multi-panel sliders, customized arches, and coastal-grade finishes raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recover value:
If you prepare to own the residential or commercial property for five years or more, the mathematics typically tilts in favor of effect windows, especially when you factor the intangible of assurance. If you plan to sell within a year and need to show compliance rapidly, shutters might make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I pay attention to hardware and accessories. Multi-point locks on casements and awnings improve seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless real estates move smoother and last longer on sandy outdoor patios. Take a look at the sill style on moving doors. Weep systems should be crafted to drain pipes heavy rains without letting wind-driven water blow back in. Ask to see a cutaway sample in the showroom.
Tint colors and reflectivity are more than fashion. noise reduction glass Reflective movies can contravene of neighborhood watch or produce mirror-like glare toward neighboring homes. In seaside ecosystems, extremely reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Regional pros know which coverings balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a huge offer. Dark bronze or black frames look wonderful on modern homes, however in Florida sun low-cost surfaces chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coverings offer the very 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, however lead times extend and costs climb. Anticipate additional evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a contractor acquainted with these submissions.

Condos have another layer of governance. Associations in some cases specify a narrow list of approved items for harmony. They likewise appreciate noise control between systems. If your building sits straight on Collins Avenue or faces a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated options. Work with building management on staging and lift access. Weekend work windows and minimal parking can add days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, need special attention in design pressure, deflection, and running hardware. Not every system that looks sturdy in a showroom satisfies the wind loads on a ninth-floor terrace. Do not count on catalog optimum sizes. Use the NOA tables that represent your site's zone, favorable and unfavorable pressures, and mullion mixes if any.
The finest projects begin with a measured survey and direct exposure analysis. You map each opening, note the substrate, and determine any framing abnormalities or settlement cracks. During proposal, the professional shows you the NOA and the Florida Product Approval, notes anchor types, and explains 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 get rid of one opening at a time to keep the house safe. They safeguard floors, pull back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames come out with care to maintain interior finishes. New systems get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The crew checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photo anchors for the authorization file, especially if they will be hidden. After glazing, they water-test with a controlled spray to confirm 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 smoothly, and there is no mystery rattle throughout thunderstorms. You did not have to require a roller adjustment after the very first week. That is the standard.
Impact score does not equivalent breakproof. Laminated glass can crack under extreme effects, but it must remain in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends debris into the glass, you may see star fractures 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 add shatter resistance, but they do not substitute for a checked, anchored system. Your insurance provider and building department will not count films as safeguarded openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient impact windows minimize air leakage. That's great, however it increases the importance of an appropriately sized heating and cooling with good dehumidification. If your system is large, the thermostat satisfies quickly and fails to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your heating and cooling pro to examine practical heat ratio, airflow, and run time. You want consistent, longer cycles, not short bursts.
Maintenance is straightforward however not optional. Tidy weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lubricate hardware each year with a silicone-based item that will not gum up in heat. Small practices extend lifespan.
There are genuine reasons to mix solutions. A set of hardly ever utilized garage windows can keep removable panels to shave budget plan. A deep-set porch with minimal sun direct exposure might do great with accordion shutters if you focus on other upgrades like a new roof deck attachment or a fortified garage door. Shutters can likewise safeguard outdoor cooking areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age expensive hardware prematurely.
If you pick shutters, purchase quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with handbook overrides for roll-downs make a difference. Assign duty for release and practice as soon as outside of a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you need 32 wing nuts is not the early morning you want to find you have 29.
Impact windows are not only about enduring the big 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 hurricane threatens, your preparation list gets shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and focus on people rather than panels.

For a lot of my clients, that intangible is the choosing factor. They understand storms will come. They also understand life in South Florida is too great to live inside a fortress that only gets up in August. Miami-Dade approved windows give you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February early morning and quiet confidence when the spaghetti models point our method September.
If you are weighing the option, begin with a site-specific assessment. Match your exposures to create pressures, choose the ideal laminated glass stack for wind and heat, select frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and employ a crew that respects the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient effect windows provide what shutters can not: security that never requests for a ladder and a better home every day of the year.