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 next-door neighbors track tropical waves, the pre-storm rush to stock up, and the ritual of carrying ladders to mount panels. After 20 years specifying, installing, and repairing structure envelopes from Key Largo to Palm Beach, I've seen what holds up and what does not. When the goal is real security with year-round convenience, Miami-Dade approved, energy‑efficient effect windows exceed shutters in ways that surpass storm day. They alter how a house feels in August, how peaceful your living-room stays on a Saturday night, and how positive you are when a storm line spins up much faster than predicted.
This is a practical take a look at why numerous South Florida homeowners are moving from shutters to typhoon impact-resistant windows, how to read the standards behind "Miami-Dade authorized," what materials matter, and how to get the installation right the first time.
Miami-Dade County's Item Control Department sets one of the most difficult criteria in the country for constructing parts exposed to windborne particles. Approval is not a marketing sticker label. It is earned through specific lab tests that mimic real typhoon conditions.
First comes big missile effect. A 9-pound 2x4 is contended the glass at approximately 34 miles per hour. That simulates roofing tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the effect, the exact same system faces cyclic pressure loading, countless pressurization and depressurization cycles that mimic rapid wind gusts over hours. If the glass stays in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The distinction between "meets Florida building code windows" and "Miami-Dade authorized windows" often lives in these test limits. Miami-Dade is simply stiffer, especially in High Speed Cyclone Zone requirements, which Boca Raton residential window installation include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind rankings differ by opening size and design pressures, represented as PSF values. On ocean-facing properties or high-rises, I frequently specify units rated at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more safeguarded exposures, ratings in the +45/ -60 PSF range can suffice, however you size and spec based upon the website's wind map, constructing height, and surrounding structures. An expert knows that a corner direct exposure at the second story needs different support than a protected window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs impact windows is not a one-to-one comparison. Shutters can meet 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 desire is a ladder, a dead cordless drill, and a missing wing nut.
Impact windows reside in place. You get constant protection, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on United States 1. You also 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 resilient interlayer, typically PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps noise. On tasks along hectic passages like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight paths, I've determined interior noise drops in the 5 to 10 decibel range, often more when paired with insulated glass units.
Security improves because laminated glass withstands forced entry. An intruder can shatter the outer lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the fragments. They meet a sticky, stubborn membrane rather of a quick path inside. Insurance underwriters know this, which is why policies frequently use credits for impact doors and windows. In my jobs, premiums normally drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the provider and the number of openings are protected.
Energy efficiency is the third pillar. Energy-efficient impact windows with modern low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while preserving visible light. That implies less cooling demand, specifically on west and south exposures where the afternoon sun punishes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we changed 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E impact systems. Summer season afternoon peak load come by roughly a ton of cooling, and the home's yearly electrical power usage fell in between 12 and 18 percent. Results vary with shading, attic insulation, and a/c efficiency, however the instructions is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, but not all laminated products are equal.
Most domestic typhoon windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, typically 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or several plies. Thicker interlayers improve impact resistance and sound control, but they include weight and cost. For oceanfront or high openings, you may see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, allowing thinner areas to attain greater design pressures. For noise-sensitive sites, acoustic PVB solutions fine-tune the polymer to better take in sound in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz variety, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows come up frequently in discussions because tempered glass is more powerful in bending than annealed glass. That's true, and tempered lites are typically used as the external or inner ply in an effect unit. However tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the hurricane sense. When it stops working, it blows up into small cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening susceptible. The effect performance comes from laminated construction, not tempering by itself. Many systems utilize a tempered external lite laminated to a hardened inner lite, or both tempered, but always bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E coverings 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 greater. Go too low on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, particularly in larger openings. The sweet area depends upon your exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I often tighten SHGC and accept a small tint to manage 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 dominate here because they handle large openings and will not swell. Thermal breaks and enhanced glazing gaskets have actually narrowed the energy space with vinyl. High-quality vinyl effect frames, when reinforced correctly, can perform well for standard-sized openings and have much better insulating worths, however I prevent them for extremely wide sliders or tall storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad systems look beautiful in older Mediterranean Revival homes, however they require careful maintenance and smart flashing. The Florida sun ruins cheap vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum finishes rapidly. Search for powder-coated finishes ranked for seaside exposure, and impact windows installation Boca Raton request written warranty 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 stress test. The load path is the essence. Effect forces need 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 concrete block building and construction, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into solid product. Hollow cells must be grouted or you require to strike the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to happen. In wood-framed houses, structural screws need to 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 aesthetic. An effectively sized backer rod and premium polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant produce a resilient, flexible seal that manages thermal growth. Too little a bead and it tears under motion. Too big and it remedies badly. On coastal jobs, I never match dissimilar 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 essential. If you rely on sealant alone, water will discover its way in. That wetness might not show up as a drip. It might rot a sill plate gradually, then betray itself as a buckling flooring or a moldy smell two cyclone seasons later.
I have nothing versus well-designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are maintained and lubed, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even detachable panels stored thoroughly can secure homes effectively. They likewise help in particular cases.
Second homes or seasonal leasings where budget is tight sometimes lean on shutters to satisfy the Florida building regulations windows requirement for protected openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is seldom utilized in summer season, a tidy motorized roll-down can be sensible, particularly if pairing with impact windows and doors somewhere else worries the spending plan. For property owners who plan to move within a year, shutters can be a short bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring compromises. They darken your home when deployed, and they need action at exactly the time you are juggling insurance documents, gas cans, and family logistics. Throughout Cyclone Irma, I viewed 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 immediate care waiting space. He made it through with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters likewise rattle and can vibrate under sustained winds, often loosening up fasteners over time if not maintained.
For long-lasting owners who wish to set it and forget it, impact windows provide cyclone evidence windows coverage while protecting daytime and view. The benefit grows important once you've experienced one storm season with no prep beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes combat 2 fights: latent load from humidity and practical load from direct solar heat gain. Effect glass upgrades can help both if defined intelligently.
Low-E impact glass uses microscopically thin metallic layers to show infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the right finishing stacks, you can block a large part of convected heat and UV. UV clog in laminated units comes mainly from the interlayer itself, which generally filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, minimizing fading of materials and flooring. Add the low-E, and you curb the solar heat that drives your air conditioning crazy midafternoon.
I examine glass specifications with 3 numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still helps here by reducing nighttime heat flow and keeping the interior glass temperature level closer to space temperature, which lowers condensation danger. SHGC drives just how much solar heat gets in. VT influences how intense the interior feels. Balance is key. Some house owners desire the crisp, clear look of greater VT, even if it indicates accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, since 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 contemporary low-E laminated double-glazed systems can reduce peak solar gains by 30 to half on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored exterior finishes, and a correctly sized variable-speed heating and cooling, and you start to construct durability. If the grid goes down and you switch to a generator, a lower cooling load means a smaller sized generator and less gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notification of Approval, or NOA, is the document you request for. It information the approved setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures checked. It is not enough to hear "these are Miami-Dade approved windows" in a showroom. Validate the NOA matches the precise design and choices you are buying, consisting of the glazing makeup and hardware. If you are in Broward or Miami-Dade, your permitting workplace will want this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Product Approval system offers FL numbers that show code compliance. In the rest of the state outside the High Speed Cyclone Zone, Florida building regulations windows can count on Florida Item Approval without Miami-Dade particular NOAs. Numerous top producers carry both. Where budgets enable, I choose NOA products even outside the zone because the testing is stiffer.
NFRC labels deal with energy metrics. They won't inform you effect efficiency, but they show U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leak. Aim for air leakage at or below 0.3 cfm/ft TWO. Tighter is better for humidity control, but make sure 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 in advance than shutters. There's no spin around that. Set up expenses vary with size, shape, finish, and access. On simple single-family homes, per-opening costs typically land between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for standard sizes. Large multi-panel sliders, custom-made arches, and coastal-grade surfaces raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recoup worth:
If you prepare affordable hurricane proof windows Boca Raton to own the property for 5 years or more, the mathematics typically tilts in favor of impact windows, especially when you factor the intangible of peace of mind. If you prepare 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 improve seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless housings slide smoother and last longer on sandy outdoor patios. Take a 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 movies can contravene of neighborhood associations or produce mirror-like glare towards neighboring homes. In seaside communities, extremely reflective glass can puzzle birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Regional pros know which finishings balance efficiency with compliance.
Color stability is a big offer. Dark bronze or black frames look great on contemporary homes, but in Florida sun low-cost finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated finishings commercial window installation offer the very best color retention and chalk resistance. I specify them for seaside exposures whenever budget plans allow.
Historic districts typically require profiles that simulate old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, however lead times extend and costs climb. Anticipate extra evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a contractor acquainted with these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations often define a narrow list of approved items for harmony. They likewise appreciate sound control between units. If your structure sits straight on Collins Avenue or deals with a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated choices. Work with building management on staging and lift gain access to. Weekend work windows and minimal parking can include days and dollars.

Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, require special attention in style pressure, deflection, and operating hardware. Not every unit that looks sturdy in a display room fulfills the wind loads on a ninth-floor balcony. Do not count on catalog maximum sizes. Utilize the commercial window installation Boca Raton NOA tables that represent your site's zone, favorable and negative pressures, and mullion mixes if any.
The finest jobs start with a determined survey and direct exposure analysis. You map each opening, keep in mind the substrate, and recognize any framing abnormalities or settlement fractures. During proposition, the professional shows you the NOA and the Florida Item Approval, notes 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 your house secure. They safeguard floorings, draw 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 team checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photo anchors for the license file, specifically if they will be hidden. After glazing, they water-test with a controlled spray to validate drainage courses and seals. The inspector sees a cool jobsite, clear labels, and documentation in order.
Six months later on, your windows still close with 2 fingers, locks bite efficiently, and there is no secret rattle during thunderstorms. You did not need to call for a roller change after the first week. That is the standard.
Impact rating does not equal breakproof. Laminated glass can split under severe effects, but it should stay in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends debris into the glass, you might see star fractures or spidering. The window did its job. Change the sash or IGU after the event.
Window films do not transform non-impact windows into typhoon impact-resistant windows. They can add shatter resistance, but they do not alternative to a tested, anchored system. Your insurance company and structure department will not count movies as protected openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient impact windows decrease air leakage. That's excellent, however it increases the value of an effectively sized a/c with great dehumidification. If your system is extra-large, the thermostat pleases rapidly and fails to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your heating and cooling pro to examine sensible heat ratio, air flow, and run time. You desire consistent, longer cycles, not brief bursts.
Maintenance is uncomplicated but not optional. Tidy weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lube hardware each year with a silicone-based item that will not gum up in heat. Little habits extend lifespan.
There are genuine factors to blend solutions. A set of rarely utilized garage windows can keep removable panels to shave budget plan. A deep-set porch with minimal sun direct exposure might do fine with accordion shutters if you focus on other upgrades like a new roof deck accessory or a prepared garage door. Shutters can likewise safeguard outside cooking areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age expensive hardware prematurely.
If you select shutters, invest in quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with handbook bypasses for roll-downs make a difference. Appoint obligation for release and practice when outside of a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you require 32 wing nuts is not the early morning you want to discover you have 29.
Impact windows are not just about enduring the big one. They improve 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 sound when a squall line passes at 2 a.m. When a typhoon threatens, your preparation list gets much shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and focus on individuals rather than panels.

For much of my clients, that intangible is the choosing aspect. They know storms will come. They likewise understand life in South Florida is too great to live inside a fortress that only awakens in August. Miami-Dade approved windows offer you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February morning and peaceful self-confidence when the spaghetti models point our way in September.
If you are weighing the choice, begin with a site-specific evaluation. Match your exposures to create pressures, select the ideal laminated glass stack for wind and heat, choose frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and work with a crew that appreciates the load course. Done right, energy‑efficient effect windows provide what shutters can not: protection that never asks for a ladder and a better home every day of the year.