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 stockpile, and the ritual of transporting ladders to mount panels. After 20 years specifying, setting up, and fixing building envelopes from Secret Largo to Palm Beach, I've seen what holds up and what does not. When the goal is real protection with year-round comfort, Miami-Dade approved, energy‑efficient impact windows exceed shutters in ways that exceed storm day. They change how a house feels in August, how quiet your living-room remains on a Saturday night, and how confident you are when a storm line spins up much faster than predicted.
This is a useful take a 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 approved," what products matter, and how to get the installation right the very first time.
Miami-Dade County's Item Control Division sets among the toughest criteria in the country for building parts exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is earned through specific lab tests that imitate genuine hurricane conditions.
First comes big rocket effect. A 9-pound 2x4 is contended the glass at roughly 34 miles per hour. That mimics roofing tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the effect, the very same system deals with cyclic pressure loading, countless pressurization and depressurization cycles that simulate rapid wind gusts over hours. If the glass stays in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The difference between "meets Florida building code windows" and "Miami-Dade approved windows" often resides in these test limits. Miami-Dade is simply stiffer, particularly in High Velocity Cyclone Zone requirements, which include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind scores differ by opening size and design pressures, represented as PSF values. On ocean-facing properties or high-rises, I typically define systems ranked at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more secured direct exposures, rankings in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can be enough, but you size and specification based upon the website's wind map, building height, and surrounding structures. An expert knows that a corner direct exposure at the second story needs various reinforcement than a protected window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs effect windows is not a one-to-one comparison. Shutters can meet 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 forecast track tightens, the last thing you want is a ladder, a dead cordless drill, and a missing wing nut.
Impact windows live in place. You get continuous protection, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on US 1. You likewise get tempered glass advantages every day of the year.
Noise control is the most underappreciated advantage. Laminated impact glass is basically a sandwich: two panes of glass bonded by a resilient interlayer, generally PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps sound. On jobs along hectic passages like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight paths, I've measured interior noise drops in the 5 to 10 decibel variety, in some cases more when coupled with insulated glass units.

Security improves because laminated glass withstands required entry. An intruder can shatter the outer lite with a hammer, however the interlayer holds the fragments. They meet a sticky, stubborn membrane rather of a fast path inside. Insurance underwriters know this, which is why policies typically use 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 efficiency is the third pillar. Energy-efficient impact windows with modern-day low-E impact glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while preserving noticeable light. That implies less cooling demand, particularly 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 impact units. Summer afternoon peak load dropped by approximately a ton of cooling, and the home's annual electricity use fell in between 12 and 18 percent. Results vary with shading, attic insulation, and a/c effectiveness, however the instructions is consistent.
Laminated impact glass is the heart of the system, but not all laminated products are equal.
Most residential hurricane windows utilize a PVB interlayer glass stack, commonly 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or numerous plies. Thicker interlayers enhance effect resistance and sound control, but they include weight and expense. For oceanfront or high openings, you may see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, allowing thinner sections to accomplish greater style pressures. For noise-sensitive sites, acoustic PVB solutions tweak the polymer to much better take in sound in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz variety, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows turn up typically in discussions due to the fact that tempered glass is more powerful in bending than annealed glass. That holds true, and tempered lites are commonly used as the external or inner ply in an impact system. But tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the cyclone sense. When it fails, it blows up into little cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening susceptible. The effect performance originates from laminated building and construction, not tempering by itself. Many systems use a tempered outer lite laminated to an annealed inner lite, or both tempered, however always bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E coverings matter for convenience. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida usually targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 variety while keeping visible light transmission around 50 percent or greater. Go too short on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, especially in larger openings. The sweet area depends on your façade orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I typically 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 since they handle big openings and won't swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy gap with vinyl. Premium vinyl effect frames, when strengthened properly, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have better insulating values, but I avoid them for really large sliders or high storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look stunning in older Mediterranean Revival homes, but they demand cautious upkeep and wise flashing. The Florida sun ruins low-cost vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum finishes rapidly. Try to find powder-coated surfaces rated for seaside direct exposure, and request written warranty information in salt-air environments.
Window installation can make or break efficiency. A pricey unit set up like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's stress test. The load path is the core. Impact 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 building, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into solid material. Hollow cells need to 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 must bite into solid trimmers, not simply sheathing. Shimming and plumb alignment matter so the locks engage cleanly and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not just aesthetic. An effectively sized backer rod and premium polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant develop a long lasting, flexible seal that handles thermal growth. Too little a bead and it tears under movement. Too huge and it treatments inadequately. On seaside jobs, I never combine dissimilar metals without a barrier, and I always define 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 important. If you depend on sealant alone, water will find its method. That moisture may disappoint up as a drip. It may rot a sill plate slowly, then betray itself as a buckling flooring or a moldy smell two cyclone seasons later.
I have absolutely nothing versus properly designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are kept and oiled, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even detachable panels stored carefully can secure homes efficiently. They likewise help in specific cases.
Second homes or seasonal rentals where spending plan is tight sometimes lean on shutters to satisfy the Florida building code windows requirement for secured openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is rarely utilized in summer season, a clean motorized roll-down can be affordable, particularly if coupling with impact doors and windows in other places stresses the spending 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 trade-offs. They darken your home when deployed, and they need action at specifically the time you are juggling insurance coverage papers, gas cans, and family logistics. Throughout Hurricane Irma, I enjoyed a neighbor try 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 room. He made it through with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters also rattle and can vibrate under sustained winds, often loosening up fasteners in time if not maintained.
For long-lasting owners who wish to set it and forget it, effect windows give typhoon proof windows protection while maintaining daytime and view. The convenience grows important once you have actually experienced one storm season with zero prep beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes fight two fights: latent load from humidity and practical load from direct solar heat gain. Effect glass upgrades can assist both if specified intelligently.
Low-E effect glass utilizes microscopically thin metal layers to reflect infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the ideal covering stacks, you can obstruct a big portion of radiant heat and UV. UV blockage in laminated systems comes mostly from the interlayer itself, which usually filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, minimizing fading of fabrics and flooring. Add the low-E, and you curb the solar heat that drives your a/c insane midafternoon.
I assess glass specifications with 3 numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still helps here by decreasing nighttime heat flow and keeping the interior glass temperature closer to room temperature level, which minimizes condensation danger. SHGC drives how much solar heat enters. VT affects how intense the interior feels. Balance is essential. Some house owners want the crisp, clear look of higher VT, even if it suggests accepting a few degrees more heat code compliant window replacement in late afternoon, due to the fact that their landscaping and roofing system overhangs currently do some shading. Others prefer a stronger tint for glare control on waterfront lots that reflect harsh 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 50 percent on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored outside surfaces, and an effectively sized variable-speed a/c, and you begin to construct strength. If the grid goes down and you switch to a generator, a lower cooling load indicates a smaller sized generator and less gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notification of Acceptance, or NOA, is the file you request for. It information the authorized setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures checked. It is not enough to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" in a showroom. Confirm the NOA matches the exact design and alternatives you are purchasing, including the glazing makeup and hardware. If you are in Broward or Miami-Dade, your allowing office will want this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Product Approval system provides FL numbers that reveal code compliance. In the rest of the state outside the High Speed Typhoon Zone, Florida building code windows can depend on Florida Item Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Numerous top manufacturers carry both. Where budgets enable, I prefer NOA items even outside the zone since the screening is stiffer.
NFRC labels deal with energy metrics. They won't tell you impact performance, but they show U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leak. Aim for air leak at or listed below 0.3 cfm/ft ². Tighter is better for humidity control, but make certain your home still has actually 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. Installed expenses vary with size, shape, finish, and access. On simple single-family homes, per-opening expenses frequently land in between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for standard sizes. Big multi-panel sliders, custom arches, and coastal-grade surfaces raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recoup worth:
If you prepare to own the building code compliant windows home for 5 years or more, the mathematics often tilts in favor of effect windows, especially 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 pay attention to 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 outdoor patios. Look at the sill style on moving doors. Weep systems ought to be engineered 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 style. Reflective movies can contravene of neighborhood associations or produce mirror-like glare towards neighboring residential or commercial properties. In coastal ecosystems, highly reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Regional pros know which coverings balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a big deal. Dark bronze or black frames look fantastic on modern homes, but in Florida sun inexpensive finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coatings provide the very best color retention and chalk resistance. I specify them for coastal exposures whenever budgets allow.
Historic districts often need profiles that mimic old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, but lead times extend and costs climb. Anticipate additional evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a contractor familiar with these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations in some cases define a narrow list of approved items for harmony. They also appreciate noise control between systems. If your building sits directly on Collins Opportunity or faces a hectic beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated choices. Work with building management on staging and lift gain access to. Weekend work windows and limited parking can include days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, require unique attention in design pressure, deflection, and operating hardware. Not every system that looks sturdy in a showroom fulfills the wind loads on a ninth-floor terrace. Do not count on catalog maximum sizes. Utilize the NOA tables that represent your website's zone, favorable and negative pressures, and mullion mixes if any.
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The finest jobs start with a measured study and exposure analysis. You map each opening, keep in mind the substrate, and recognize any framing irregularities or settlement fractures. Throughout proposal, the professional reveals you the NOA and the Florida Product Approval, lists anchor types, and discusses 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 remove one opening at a time to keep the house safe. They secure floorings, pull back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames come out with care to maintain interior surfaces. New systems get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The crew checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photograph anchors for the license file, particularly if they will be concealed. After glazing, they water-test with a regulated spray to confirm drainage courses and seals. The inspector sees a neat jobsite, clear labels, and paperwork in order.
Six months later on, your windows still close with 2 fingers, locks bite smoothly, and there is no mystery rattle during thunderstorms. You did not need to require a roller adjustment after the very first week. That is the standard.
Impact score does not equivalent breakproof. Laminated glass can break under extreme impacts, however it needs to remain in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends out particles into the glass, you might see star fractures or spidering. The window did its job. Replace 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, however they do not alternative to an evaluated, anchored system. Your insurance provider and structure department will not count movies as safeguarded openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient effect windows minimize air leak. That's fantastic, but it increases the significance of an effectively sized HVAC with excellent dehumidification. If your system is extra-large, the thermostat pleases quickly and fails to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your a/c pro to examine practical heat ratio, air flow, and run time. You desire stable, longer cycles, not brief bursts.
Maintenance is uncomplicated 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 reasons to mix services. A set of hardly ever utilized garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave budget plan. A deep-set patio with minimal sun exposure might do fine with accordion shutters if you prioritize other upgrades like a new roofing deck attachment or a fortified garage door. Shutters can likewise protect outside kitchen areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age fancy hardware prematurely.
If you choose shutters, buy quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with manual overrides for roll-downs make a distinction. Appoint responsibility for deployment and practice once outside of a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you require 32 wing nuts is not the early morning Hurricane window ratings you want to discover you have 29.
Impact windows are not just about making it through the big one. They reshape daily living. The living room stays cooler and quieter. The air conditioner 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 much 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 deciding element. They know storms will come. They likewise know life in South Florida is too good to live inside a fortress that only wakes up in August. Miami-Dade approved windows provide you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February early morning and quiet confidence when the spaghetti models point our way in September.
If you are weighing the option, begin with a site-specific evaluation. Match your exposures to design pressures, select the best laminated glass stack for wind and heat, choose frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and employ a crew that appreciates the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient effect windows provide what shutters can not: security that never requests a ladder and a much better home every day of the year.