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 stock up, and the ritual of hauling ladders to mount panels. After 20 years specifying, setting up, and repairing structure envelopes from Key Largo to Palm Beach, I have actually seen what holds up and what doesn't. When the goal is genuine security with year-round comfort, Miami-Dade authorized, energy‑efficient impact windows exceed shutters in manner ins which surpass 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 faster than predicted.
This is a practical take a look at why many South Florida homeowners are moving from shutters to hurricane impact-resistant windows, how to check out the standards behind "Miami-Dade authorized," what materials matter, and how to get the installation right the very first time.
Miami-Dade County's Item Control Division sets one of the hardest standards in the country for building components Home hardening upgrades exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker label. It is earned through particular laboratory tests that simulate real typhoon conditions.
First comes big missile impact. 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 impact, the very same unit deals with cyclic pressure loading, thousands of pressurization and depressurization cycles that imitate fast wind gusts over hours. If the glass remains in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The distinction between "satisfies Florida building regulations windows" and "Miami-Dade authorized windows" typically resides in these test thresholds. Miami-Dade is just stiffer, particularly in High Speed Cyclone Zone requirements, that include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind rankings vary by opening size and style pressures, signified as PSF values. On ocean-facing homes or high-rises, I typically define units ranked at +60/ -80 PSF or greater. Inland or in more safeguarded exposures, scores in the +45/ -60 PSF range can be adequate, but you size and spec based on the site's wind map, developing height, and surrounding structures. An expert understands that a corner direct exposure at the 2nd story needs various support than a sheltered window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs impact windows is not a one-to-one contrast. Shutters can fulfill code, and they're much better than nothing. However they ask you to do operate 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 location. You get constant protection, 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 advantage. Laminated impact glass is essentially a sandwich: 2 panes of glass bonded by a resistant interlayer, typically PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps noise. On tasks along busy corridors like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight paths, I've measured interior noise drops in the 5 to 10 decibel range, 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, but the interlayer holds the fragments. They satisfy a sticky, stubborn membrane rather of a quick course inside. Insurance coverage underwriters understand this, which is why policies often use credits for impact windows and doors. In my tasks, premiums normally drop 10 to 25 percent, depending on the carrier and the number of openings are protected.
Energy efficiency is the third pillar. Energy-efficient impact windows with contemporary low-E impact glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while maintaining visible light. That indicates less a/c need, particularly on west and south exposures where the afternoon sun penalizes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we replaced 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E impact units. Summer afternoon peak load stopped by approximately a ton of cooling, and the home's annual electrical energy usage fell in between 12 and 18 percent. Results vary with shading, attic insulation, and HVAC effectiveness, however the direction is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, but not all laminated products are equal.
Most domestic typhoon windows utilize a PVB interlayer glass stack, typically 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 expense. For oceanfront or tall openings, you might see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, allowing thinner areas to accomplish higher design pressures. For noise-sensitive websites, acoustic PVB formulations modify the polymer to much better absorb sound in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz range, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows turn up typically in discussions because tempered glass is stronger in bending than annealed glass. That holds true, and tempered lites are frequently used as the outer or inner ply in an effect system. However tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the cyclone sense. When it stops working, it blows up into little cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening vulnerable. The impact efficiency comes from laminated building, not pressure and impact testing tempering by itself. Numerous systems utilize a tempered external lite laminated to an annealed inner lite, or both tempered, but always 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 wind load requirements while keeping visible light transmission around 50 percent or higher. Go too low on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, particularly in larger openings. The sweet area depends on your façade orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I often tighten SHGC and accept a small tint to manage early morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I favor higher visible transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames control here because they handle big openings and won't swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy space with vinyl. Top quality vinyl effect frames, when enhanced properly, can perform well for standard-sized openings and have much better insulating values, however I prevent them for really broad sliders or high storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look stunning in older Mediterranean Revival homes, but they require cautious maintenance and wise flashing. The Florida sun ruins low-cost vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum finishes rapidly. Look for powder-coated surfaces ranked for seaside exposure, and demand composed guarantee information in salt-air environments.
Window installation can make or break performance. A costly unit set up like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's tension test. The load course is the essence. 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 building, you desire stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into solid material. Hollow cells need to be grouted or you require to hit 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 just sheathing. Shimming and plumb positioning matter so the locks engage cleanly and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not just visual. An effectively sized backer rod and premium polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant develop a durable, flexible energy efficiency hurricane windows seal that manages thermal expansion. Too little a bead and it tears under movement. Too big and it cures improperly. On seaside jobs, I never ever pair different metals without a barrier, and I always specify corrosion-resistant fasteners. 10 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 find its way in. That wetness may not show up as a drip. It might rot a sill plate slowly, then betray itself as a buckling floor or a moldy smell 2 hurricane seasons later.
I have nothing against properly designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are maintained and lubricated, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels stored carefully can secure homes effectively. They also help in specific cases.
Second homes or seasonal rentals where spending plan is tight often lean on shutters to fulfill the Florida building code windows requirement for secured openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is hardly ever used in summer season, a tidy motorized roll-down can be reasonable, specifically if coupling with impact doors and windows in other places stresses the budget. For property owners who prepare to move within a year, shutters can be a short bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring compromises. They darken your house when released, and they require action at specifically the time you are managing insurance documents, gas cans, and family logistics. During Hurricane Irma, I enjoyed a next-door neighbor try to install steel panels hours before landfall. The ladder sank in saturated soil, a panel slipped, and we invested the next hour in the urgent care waiting space. He survived with stitches. His living-room window did not. Shutters also rattle and can vibrate under sustained winds, often loosening up fasteners gradually if not maintained.
For long-term owners who want to set it and forget it, impact windows provide hurricane proof windows protection while maintaining daylight and view. The convenience grows important once you've experienced one storm season with no preparation beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes combat two fights: hidden load from humidity and reasonable load from direct solar heat gain. Effect glass upgrades can help both if defined impact glass doors intelligently.
Low-E effect glass utilizes microscopically thin metallic layers to show infrared energy while letting noticeable light through. With the right finish stacks, you can block a big portion of radiant heat and UV. UV clog in laminated units comes mainly from the interlayer itself, which normally filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, minimizing fading of fabrics and flooring. Include the low-E, and you curb the solar heat that drives your AC insane midafternoon.
I assess glass specifications with 3 numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still assists here by reducing nighttime heat circulation and keeping the interior glass temperature level closer to space temperature, which lowers condensation danger. SHGC drives how much solar heat gets in. VT affects how intense the interior feels. Balance is crucial. Some homeowners desire the crisp, clear look of greater VT, even if it means accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, due to the fact that their landscaping and roof overhangs currently do some shading. Others choose a stronger tint for glare control on waterside lots that reflect harsh light.
In practical 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 an effectively sized variable-speed heating and cooling, and you start to construct durability. If the grid decreases and you change to a generator, a lower cooling load indicates a smaller sized generator and fewer gallons of fuel.

Miami-Dade Notice of Approval, or NOA, is the file you request for. It information the approved configurations, sizes, anchors, and pressures checked. It is inadequate to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" in a showroom. Validate the NOA matches the exact design and alternatives you are buying, including the glazing makeup and hardware. If you are in Broward or Miami-Dade, your permitting office will want this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Product Approval system supplies FL numbers that show code compliance. In the remainder of the state outside the High Velocity Typhoon Zone, Florida building code windows can count on Florida Item Approval without Miami-Dade particular NOAs. Numerous top producers carry both. Where spending plans enable, I choose NOA products even outside the zone due to the fact that the screening is stiffer.
NFRC labels manage energy metrics. They will not inform you effect efficiency, but they show U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leakage. Aim for air leakage at or listed below 0.3 cfm/ft ². Tighter is better for humidity control, however ensure your home still has actually balanced ventilation. Sealing the envelope and ignoring fresh air is a recipe for indoor air quality complaints.
Impact windows cost more in advance than shutters. There's no spin around that. Installed expenses vary with size, shape, finish, and gain access to. On uncomplicated single-family homes, per-opening expenses typically land in between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for basic sizes. Big multi-panel sliders, custom arches, and coastal-grade surfaces raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recover worth:
If you prepare to own the property for five years or more, the math typically tilts in favor of impact windows, particularly when you factor the intangible of assurance. If you plan to sell within a year and require to reveal compliance rapidly, shutters may make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I take notice of hardware and accessories. Multi-point locks on sashes and awnings enhance seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless housings slide smoother and last longer on sandy patio areas. 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 style. Reflective movies can contravene of neighborhood watch or produce mirror-like glare toward surrounding properties. In coastal communities, extremely reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Local pros understand which finishes balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a huge offer. Dark bronze or black frames look great on modern-day homes, but in Florida sun inexpensive surfaces chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coatings provide the best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for seaside direct exposures whenever budget plans allow.
Historic districts often require profiles that simulate 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 familiar with these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations in some cases specify a narrow list of authorized products for harmony. They also care about sound control in between systems. If your structure sits straight on Collins Opportunity or deals with a hectic beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated alternatives. Deal with structure 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, require special attention in design pressure, deflection, and operating hardware. Not every system that looks sturdy in a showroom meets the wind loads on a ninth-floor terrace. Do not depend on brochure optimum sizes. Utilize the NOA tables that represent your website's zone, favorable and unfavorable pressures, and mullion combinations if any.
The best projects begin with a determined study and direct exposure analysis. You map each opening, note the substrate, and recognize any framing abnormalities or settlement cracks. Throughout proposal, the specialist shows you the NOA and the Florida Product Approval, lists anchor types, and explains how each opening will be flashed and sealed. They plan for stucco or drywall repair work, not pretend no damage will occur.
On set up day, they remove one opening at a time to keep the house protected. They protect floors, draw 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 photograph anchors for the license file, especially if they will be hidden. After glazing, they water-test with a regulated spray to validate drainage paths and seals. The inspector sees a cool jobsite, clear labels, and paperwork in order.
Six months later, your windows still close with two fingers, locks bite smoothly, and there is no secret rattle throughout thunderstorms. You did not have to require a roller modification after the very first week. That is the standard.
Impact rating does not equivalent breakproof. Laminated glass can break under extreme effects, however it must stay in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends out particles into the glass, you might see star cracks or spidering. The window did its job. Change the sash or IGU after the event.
Window movies do not transform non-impact windows into cyclone impact-resistant windows. They can add shatter resistance, but they do not substitute for an evaluated, anchored system. Your insurance company and building department will not count films as secured openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient effect windows reduce air leakage. That's great, but it increases the significance of an appropriately sized a/c 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 examine reasonable heat ratio, air flow, and run time. You desire consistent, longer cycles, not brief bursts.
Maintenance is simple but not optional. Clean weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lube hardware each year with a silicone-based product that will not gum up in heat. Little practices extend lifespan.
There are legitimate reasons to blend services. A pair of seldom used garage windows can keep removable panels to shave spending plan. A deep-set deck with very little sun direct exposure may do fine with accordion shutters if you focus on other upgrades like a brand-new roofing deck attachment or a fortified garage door. Shutters can likewise safeguard outside kitchens 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 release and practice as soon as outside of a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you need 32 wing nuts is not the morning you wish to discover you have 29.
Impact windows are not just about enduring the huge one. They reshape daily living. The living room remains cooler and quieter. The air conditioner cycles calmly instead of racing at 4 p.m. You sleep without freight trains of wind noise when a squall line passes at 2 a.m. When a typhoon threatens, your preparation list gets shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and concentrate on individuals rather than panels.

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