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 stock up, and the routine of hauling ladders to install panels. After two decades defining, installing, and troubleshooting structure envelopes from Secret Largo to Palm Beach, I've seen what holds up and what doesn't. When the objective is real protection with year-round convenience, Miami-Dade authorized, energy‑efficient impact windows surpass shutters in ways that surpass storm day. They alter how a house feels in August, how peaceful your living room remains on a Saturday night, and how confident you are when a storm line spins up quicker than predicted.
This is a practical take a look at why numerous South Florida house owners are moving from shutters to hurricane impact-resistant windows, how to read the requirements 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 one of the toughest benchmarks in the nation for developing parts exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker label. It is earned through particular laboratory tests that replicate genuine hurricane conditions.
First comes big rocket 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 effect, the same unit deals with cyclic pressure loading, thousands of pressurization and depressurization cycles that simulate quick wind gusts over hours. If the glass stays in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The distinction in between "meets Florida building code windows" and "Miami-Dade authorized windows" often lives in these test limits. Miami-Dade is merely stiffer, particularly in High Speed Hurricane Zone requirements, which include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind ratings vary by opening size and design pressures, represented as PSF worths. On ocean-facing homes or high-rises, I often specify units rated at +60/ -80 PSF or greater. Inland or in more secured direct exposures, rankings in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can be enough, however you size and spec based on the website's wind map, building height, and surrounding structures. A professional knows that a corner direct exposure at the 2nd story demands various reinforcement than a sheltered window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs impact windows is not a one-to-one contrast. Shutters can meet code, and they're much better than nothing. However 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 desire is a ladder, a dead cordless drill, and a missing wing nut.
Impact windows reside in location. You get continuous defense, 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 effect glass is essentially a sandwich: two panes of glass bonded by a resilient interlayer, typically PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps noise. On jobs along busy passages like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight courses, I have actually determined 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 resists forced entry. A burglar can shatter the external lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the shards. They fulfill a sticky, persistent membrane rather of a quick path inside. Insurance coverage underwriters know this, which is why policies often provide credits for effect doors and windows. In my projects, premiums typically drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the carrier and how many openings are protected.
Energy performance is the third pillar. Energy-efficient impact windows with modern-day low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while maintaining visible light. That means less a/c demand, especially on west and south exposures where the afternoon sun penalizes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we changed 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E impact systems. Summertime afternoon peak load visited roughly a ton of cooling, and the home's yearly electrical power use fell in between 12 and 18 percent. Outcomes differ 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 residential hurricane windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, commonly 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or several plies. Thicker interlayers improve impact resistance and sound control, however they add weight and cost. For oceanfront or tall openings, you might see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, permitting thinner sections to achieve greater design pressures. For noise-sensitive websites, acoustic PVB formulations fine-tune the polymer to much better take in noise in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz variety, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows show up often in conversations due to the fact that tempered glass is stronger in flexing than annealed glass. That's true, and tempered lites are commonly utilized as the external or inner ply in an effect unit. But 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 performance originates from laminated building and construction, not tempering by itself. Many systems utilize a tempered external lite laminated to an annealed inner lite, or both tempered, however constantly bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E coverings matter for comfort. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida usually targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 range while keeping noticeable light transmission around 50 percent or higher. Go too short 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 up SHGC and accept a slight tint to handle morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I favor higher noticeable transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames control here because they deal with big openings and will not swell. Thermal breaks and enhanced glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy space with vinyl. Top quality vinyl impact frames, when enhanced properly, can perform well for standard-sized openings and have much better insulating worths, but I prevent them for really wide sliders or high storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad systems look beautiful in older Mediterranean Revival homes, however they demand cautious maintenance and clever flashing. The Florida sun damages low-cost vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum finishes rapidly. Try to find powder-coated surfaces ranked for coastal exposure, and request written guarantee details in salt-air environments.
Window setup can make or break efficiency. A pricey system set up like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's stress test. The load course is the crux. Effect 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 and construction, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into solid material. Hollow cells need to be grouted or you require to strike the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to take place. In wood-framed houses, structural screws must bite into strong trimmers, not simply sheathing. Shimming and plumb alignment matter so the locks engage cleanly and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not simply visual. A correctly sized backer rod and premium polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant produce a durable, versatile seal that handles thermal expansion. Too small a bead and it tears under movement. Too big and it treatments improperly. On coastal jobs, I never ever combine different metals without a barrier, and I constantly define 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 crucial. If you count on sealant alone, water will find its way in. That wetness might disappoint up as a drip. It might rot a sill plate slowly, then betray itself as a buckling flooring or a musty smell 2 typhoon seasons later.
I have nothing against properly designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are kept and lubricated, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels kept carefully can safeguard homes effectively. They also help in specific cases.
Second homes or seasonal rentals where budget is tight sometimes lean on shutters to meet the Florida building regulations windows requirement for protected openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is rarely used in summertime, a tidy motorized roll-down can be sensible, especially if pairing with impact doors and windows elsewhere worries the budget 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 trade-offs. They darken your home when released, and they require action at exactly the time you are juggling insurance documents, gas cans, and household logistics. During Cyclone Irma, I watched a next-door 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 space. He endured with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters also rattle and can vibrate under continual winds, in some cases loosening fasteners over time if not maintained.
For long-term owners who wish to set it and forget it, impact windows provide cyclone proof windows protection while protecting daylight and view. The convenience grows valuable once you have actually experienced one storm season with absolutely no preparation 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 defined intelligently.
Low-E impact glass uses microscopically thin metallic layers to show infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the ideal finish stacks, you can obstruct a big part of radiant heat and UV. UV blockage in laminated units comes mainly from the interlayer itself, which generally filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, lowering fading of fabrics and floor covering. Include the low-E, and you curb the solar heat that drives your air conditioner insane midafternoon.


I evaluate glass specs with 3 numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still assists here by lowering nighttime heat circulation and keeping the interior glass temperature level closer to room temperature level, which reduces condensation threat. SHGC drives how much solar heat gets in. VT influences how intense the interior feels. Balance is key. Some house owners desire the crisp, clear appearance of higher VT, even if it implies accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, due to the fact that their landscaping and roofing system overhangs currently do some shading. Others prefer a more powerful tint for glare control on waterfront lots that show extreme light.
In practical terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to contemporary 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 exterior surfaces, and a correctly sized variable-speed a/c, and you begin to develop durability. If the grid goes down and you change to a generator, a lower cooling load suggests a smaller sized generator and fewer gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance, or NOA, is the file you request for. It details the approved setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures evaluated. It is inadequate to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" in a display room. Validate the NOA matches the precise design and options you are buying, including the glazing makeup and hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your permitting workplace will desire this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Item Approval system provides FL numbers that show code compliance. In the rest of the state outside the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, Florida building code windows can depend on Florida Item Approval without Miami-Dade particular NOAs. Numerous top producers carry both. Where budget plans enable, I choose NOA items even outside the zone because the screening is stiffer.
NFRC labels deal with energy metrics. They will not inform you impact efficiency, however they reveal U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leakage. Go for air leak at or listed below 0.3 cfm/ft TWO. Tighter is better for humidity control, but make certain your home still has actually balanced ventilation. Sealing the envelope and neglecting fresh air is a dish for indoor air quality complaints.
Impact windows cost more in advance than shutters. There's no spin around that. Installed expenses differ with size, shape, finish, and access. On uncomplicated single-family homes, per-opening costs frequently land in between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for standard sizes. Big multi-panel sliders, customized arches, and coastal-grade surfaces raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recoup worth:
If you plan to own the residential or commercial property for five years or more, the mathematics frequently 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 need to show compliance rapidly, shutters may make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I focus on hardware and accessories. Multi-point locks on casements and awnings improve seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless real estates slide smoother and last longer on sandy outdoor patios. Take a look at the sill design on sliding doors. Weep systems need 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 associations or produce mirror-like glare towards surrounding homes. In seaside environments, extremely reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Regional pros understand which finishings balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a huge offer. Dark bronze or black frames look wonderful on contemporary homes, however in Florida sun low-cost finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated finishes offer the best color retention and chalk resistance. I specify them for seaside exposures whenever budget plans allow.
Historic districts often require profiles that imitate old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, but lead times lengthen and costs climb. Anticipate additional review by architectural boards, and line up a contractor knowledgeable about these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations in some cases define a narrow list of authorized items for harmony. They likewise care about sound control between units. If your building sits directly on Collins Avenue 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 limited parking can include days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, need special attention in style pressure, deflection, and running hardware. Not every system that looks sturdy in a display room fulfills the wind loads on a ninth-floor veranda. Do not rely on catalog maximum sizes. Utilize the NOA tables that represent your website's zone, positive and unfavorable pressures, and mullion mixes if any.
The finest jobs begin with a measured study and exposure analysis. You map each opening, keep in mind the substrate, and recognize any framing irregularities or settlement fractures. During proposition, the specialist shows 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 set up day, they eliminate one opening at a time to keep your home protected. They protect floors, pull back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames come out with care to maintain interior finishes. New units get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The team checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They picture anchors for the permit file, especially 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, your windows still close with two fingers, locks bite smoothly, and there is no secret rattle throughout thunderstorms. You did not need to require a roller modification after the first week. That is the standard.
Impact rating does not equivalent breakproof. Laminated glass can split under extreme effects, but it should stay in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends particles into the glass, you may see star fractures or spidering. The window did its task. Replace the sash or IGU after the event.
Window films do not transform non-impact windows into hurricane impact-resistant windows. They can include shatter resistance, however they do not alternative to a checked, anchored system. Your insurance company and structure department will not count films as protected openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient impact windows minimize air leakage. That's excellent, however it increases the importance of an appropriately sized heating and cooling with excellent dehumidification. If your system is large, the thermostat satisfies quickly and fails to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your heating and cooling pro to examine reasonable heat ratio, airflow, and run time. You desire consistent, longer cycles, not short bursts.
Maintenance is straightforward however not optional. Clean weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and oil hardware each year with a silicone-based product that will not gum up in heat. Small practices extend lifespan.
There are genuine reasons to mix solutions. A set of rarely used garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave budget plan. A deep-set deck with very little sun direct exposure might do great with accordion shutters if you prioritize other upgrades like a new roofing system deck accessory or a prepared garage door. Shutters can also protect outside kitchen areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age expensive hardware prematurely.
If you select shutters, buy quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with handbook bypasses for roll-downs make a difference. Designate responsibility for release and practice once custom window installation services 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 making it through the big 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 typhoon 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 aspect. They know storms will come. They also understand life in South Florida is too good to live inside a fortress that just gets up in August. Miami-Dade authorized windows give 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 option, start with a site-specific assessment. Match your exposures to create pressures, select the right laminated glass stack for wind and heat, select frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and employ a crew that appreciates 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.