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 mount panels. After two decades defining, setting up, and fixing building envelopes from Key Largo to Palm Beach, I have actually seen what holds up and what does not. When the goal is genuine protection with year-round convenience, Miami-Dade approved, energy‑efficient effect windows outperform shutters in ways that surpass storm day. They change 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 quicker than predicted.
This is a useful take a look at why many South Florida homeowners are moving from shutters to cyclone impact-resistant windows, how to read the requirements behind "Miami-Dade approved," what materials matter, and how to get the installation right the very first time.
Miami-Dade County's Product Control Department sets one of the toughest standards in the country for constructing parts exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is earned through particular lab tests that imitate real typhoon conditions.
First comes large rocket effect. A 9-pound 2x4 is contended the glass at roughly 34 miles per hour. That mimics roofing system tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the impact, the very same unit faces cyclic pressure loading, countless 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 difference between "meets Florida building code windows" and "Miami-Dade authorized windows" typically resides in these test thresholds. Miami-Dade is merely stiffer, particularly in High Speed Hurricane Zone requirements, that include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind ratings vary by opening size and design pressures, represented as PSF values. On ocean-facing properties or high-rises, I typically specify systems ranked at +60/ -80 PSF or greater. Inland or in more safeguarded exposures, scores in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can be sufficient, however you size and specification based on the site's wind map, building height, and surrounding structures. An expert knows that a corner exposure at the 2nd story demands different support than a sheltered window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs effect windows is not a one-to-one contrast. Shutters can meet code, and they're better than absolutely nothing. But they ask you to do operate at the worst possible time. When a watch turns to a warning and the projection track tightens up, the last thing you desire is a ladder, a dead cordless drill, and a missing wing nut.
Impact windows reside in place. You get constant security, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on United States 1. You likewise get advantages every day of the year.
Noise control is the most underappreciated benefit. Laminated effect glass is essentially a sandwich: 2 panes of glass bonded by a resistant interlayer, typically PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps sound. On jobs along busy passages like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight paths, I've measured interior sound drops in the 5 to 10 decibel range, sometimes more when coupled with insulated glass units.
Security enhances due to the fact that laminated glass withstands forced entry. An intruder can shatter the external lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the fragments. They meet a sticky, persistent membrane instead of a fast path inside. Insurance underwriters understand this, which is why policies often use credits for impact windows and doors. In my jobs, premiums typically drop 10 to 25 percent, depending on the carrier and how many openings are protected.
Energy performance is the third pillar. Energy-efficient impact windows with modern-day low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while maintaining noticeable light. That suggests less air conditioning need, especially on west and south exposures where the afternoon sun punishes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we replaced 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E effect systems. Summer afternoon peak load come by roughly a ton of cooling, and the home's annual electrical power use fell between 12 and 18 percent. Outcomes differ with shading, attic insulation, and heating and cooling efficiency, however the instructions is consistent.
Laminated impact glass is the heart of the system, but not all laminated items are equal.
Most property typhoon windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, frequently 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or numerous plies. Thicker interlayers improve effect resistance and sound control, but they add weight and cost. For oceanfront or high openings, you may see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, permitting thinner sections to achieve greater design pressures. For noise-sensitive sites, acoustic PVB solutions tweak the polymer to much better absorb noise in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz variety, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows come up frequently in conversations since tempered glass is more powerful in flexing than annealed glass. That's true, and tempered lites are commonly used as the outer or inner ply in an effect system. However tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the hurricane sense. When it fails, it takes off into small cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening vulnerable. The effect performance originates from laminated building, not tempering by itself. Numerous systems utilize a tempered outer lite laminated to a hardened inner lite, or both tempered, but constantly bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E finishes 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 variety while keeping visible light transmission around half or higher. Go too low on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, specifically in bigger openings. The sweet area depends on your exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I frequently tighten up SHGC and accept a slight 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 dominate here because they deal with large openings and won't swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have actually narrowed the energy space with vinyl. High-quality vinyl impact frames, when strengthened effectively, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have much better insulating values, but I prevent them for really large sliders or tall storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look gorgeous in older Mediterranean Revival homes, but they require careful maintenance and clever flashing. The Florida sun destroys low-cost vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum surfaces rapidly. Look for powder-coated surfaces rated for coastal exposure, and request composed guarantee details in salt-air environments.
Window installation can make or break performance. A costly 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 travel from the glass through the frame, to the anchors, into the substrate, and after that into the structure's framing or masonry.
In concrete block construction, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong material. 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 solid trimmers, not just sheathing. Shimming and plumb positioning matter so the locks engage easily and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not just aesthetic. An effectively sized backer rod and high-quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant produce a long lasting, versatile seal that manages thermal expansion. Too little a bead and it tears under movement. Too huge and it remedies inadequately. On coastal tasks, I never ever pair different metals without a barrier, and I always specify corrosion-resistant fasteners. Ten years later, you will see who took shortcuts.
Flashing is the other non-negotiable. Pan flashing at sills, self-adhered membranes at jambs and heads, and combination with the water-resistive barrier are important. If you count on sealant alone, water will find its method. That moisture might not show up as a drip. It might rot a sill plate slowly, then betray itself as a buckling floor or a musty odor two cyclone seasons later.
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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 safeguard homes effectively. They also assist in certain 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 safeguarded openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is hardly ever utilized in summer season, a clean motorized roll-down can be reasonable, specifically if coupling with impact doors and windows elsewhere stresses the budget. For homeowners who plan to move within a year, shutters can be a short bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring trade-offs. They darken the house when released, and they require action at specifically the time you are managing insurance coverage documents, gas cans, and family logistics. Throughout Cyclone Irma, I viewed a 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 room. He endured with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters also rattle and can vibrate under continual winds, often loosening fasteners with time if not maintained.
For long-term owners who wish to set it and forget it, impact windows give cyclone evidence windows coverage while protecting daylight and view. The convenience grows important once you have actually experienced one storm season with no preparation beyond locking the sash.

South Florida homes combat two battles: hidden load from humidity and sensible load from direct solar heat gain. Impact glass upgrades can help both if specified intelligently.
Low-E effect glass uses microscopically thin metal layers to reflect infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the ideal finishing stacks, you can obstruct a large portion of convected heat and UV. UV obstruction in laminated systems comes mainly from the interlayer itself, which generally filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, lowering fading of materials and flooring. Add the low-E, and you curb the solar heat that drives your AC insane midafternoon.
I assess glass specs with three numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still assists here by minimizing nighttime heat flow and keeping the interior glass temperature level closer to room temperature level, which lowers condensation risk. SHGC drives just how much solar heat goes into. VT affects how bright the interior feels. Balance is key. Some house owners desire the crisp, clear appearance of greater VT, even if it indicates accepting a few degrees more heat in late afternoon, due to the fact that their landscaping and roofing overhangs currently do some shading. Others choose a stronger tint for glare control on waterside lots that show severe light.
In useful terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to modern-day 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 outside finishes, and a properly sized variable-speed HVAC, and you begin to construct durability. If the grid goes down and you change to a generator, a lower cooling load suggests a smaller generator and fewer gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notice of Approval, or NOA, is the document you ask for. It details the approved setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures evaluated. It is insufficient to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" in a showroom. Verify the NOA matches the precise model and alternatives you are purchasing, consisting of the glazing makeup and hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your permitting workplace will want this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Item Approval system supplies FL numbers that show code compliance. In the rest of the state outside the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, Florida building regulations windows can depend on Florida Product Approval without Miami-Dade particular NOAs. Numerous leading manufacturers bring both. Where budget plans permit, I choose NOA products even outside the zone since the screening is stiffer.
NFRC labels deal with energy metrics. They will not inform you effect efficiency, but they reveal U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leakage. Aim for air leak at or below 0.3 cfm/ft ². Tighter is better for humidity control, however make sure your home still has actually stabilized ventilation. Sealing the envelope and overlooking 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 expenses vary with size, shape, finish, and access. On straightforward single-family homes, per-opening costs frequently land in between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for basic sizes. Big multi-panel sliders, custom arches, and coastal-grade finishes raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recover worth:
If you plan to own the home for five years or more, the mathematics frequently tilts in favor of impact windows, particularly when you factor the intangible of assurance. If you plan to offer within a year and need to show compliance rapidly, shutters might make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I pay attention to hardware and devices. Multi-point locks on sashes and awnings enhance seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless housings move smoother and last longer on sandy outdoor patios. Look at the sill design on moving doors. Weep systems ought to be engineered to drain heavy rainfall without letting wind-driven water blow back in. Ask to see a cutaway sample in the showroom.
Tint colors and reflectivity are more than style. Reflective films can run afoul of neighborhood watch or produce mirror-like glare toward surrounding properties. In coastal ecosystems, extremely reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Local pros know which finishings balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a huge deal. Dark bronze or black frames look wonderful on contemporary homes, however in Florida sun cheap finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated finishings supply the best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for coastal exposures whenever budget plans allow.
Historic districts typically need profiles that simulate old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, but lead times lengthen and costs climb. Anticipate extra review by architectural boards, and line up a specialist familiar with these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations often define a narrow list of approved items for harmony. They also care about noise control in between units. If your structure sits straight on Collins Opportunity or deals with a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated alternatives. Work with building management on staging and lift gain access to. Weekend work windows and minimal parking can include days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, need special attention in design pressure, deflection, and operating hardware. Not every unit that looks durable in a display room meets the wind loads on a ninth-floor balcony. Do not rely on brochure maximum sizes. Utilize the NOA tables that represent your website's zone, favorable and negative pressures, and mullion mixes if any.
The finest projects start with a measured survey and direct exposure analysis. You map each opening, keep in mind the substrate, and identify any framing irregularities or settlement cracks. During proposal, the contractor shows 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 install day, they eliminate one opening at a time to keep the house safe and secure. They secure floorings, draw back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames bring out care to protect interior surfaces. 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 license file, especially if they will be concealed. After glazing, they water-test with a controlled spray to confirm drain courses and seals. The inspector sees a neat jobsite, clear labels, and documentation in order.
Six months later, your windows still close with 2 fingers, locks bite efficiently, and there is no mystery rattle throughout thunderstorms. You did not need to call for a roller change after the first week. That is the standard.
Impact ranking does not equal breakproof. Laminated glass can crack under extreme impacts, but it should remain in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends particles into the glass, you might see star fractures or spidering. The window did its task. Change the sash or IGU after the event.
Window films do not transform non-impact windows into cyclone impact-resistant windows. They can include shatter resistance, but they do not alternative to a checked, anchored system. Your insurance company and building department will not count films as secured openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient impact windows lower air leakage. That's terrific, but it increases the significance of an effectively sized HVAC with good dehumidification. If your system is extra-large, the thermostat satisfies quickly and stops working to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your HVAC pro to inspect sensible heat ratio, air flow, and run time. You desire consistent, longer cycles, not brief bursts.
Maintenance is straightforward but not optional. Tidy weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lubricate hardware annually with a silicone-based product that will not gum up in heat. Small routines extend lifespan.
There are legitimate reasons to mix solutions. A set of rarely used garage windows can keep removable panels to shave spending plan. A deep-set deck with very little sun exposure may do great with accordion shutters if you focus on other upgrades like a brand-new roof deck attachment or a fortified garage door. Shutters can also protect outside cooking areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age expensive hardware prematurely.
If you select shutters, purchase quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with handbook bypasses for roll-downs make a difference. Designate responsibility for implementation 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 discover you have 29.
Impact windows are not only about surviving the huge one. They reshape daily living. The living room stays cooler and quieter. The AC cycles calmly instead of racing at 4 p.m. You sleep without freight trains of wind sound when a squall line passes at 2 a.m. When a hurricane threatens, your preparation list gets much shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and concentrate on people instead of panels.
For many of my clients, that intangible is the choosing element. They understand storms will come. They also know 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 early morning and quiet 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 develop pressures, choose the best laminated glass stack for wind and heat, choose frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and hire a crew that respects the load course. Done right, energy‑efficient effect windows deliver what shutters can not: security that never requests a ladder and a better home every day of the year.