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 hauling ladders to mount panels. After two decades defining, setting up, and fixing building envelopes from Secret Largo to Palm Beach, I have actually seen what holds up and what doesn't. When the objective is genuine defense with year-round convenience, Miami-Dade authorized, energy‑efficient impact windows outshine shutters in ways that surpass storm day. They alter how a home feels in August, how quiet your living-room remains on a Saturday night, and how positive you are when a storm line spins up much faster than predicted.

This is a useful take a look at why many South Florida property owners are moving from shutters to typhoon impact-resistant windows, how to read the requirements behind "Miami-Dade approved," what products matter, and how to get the installation right the first time.
Miami-Dade County's Item Control Department sets one of the most difficult standards in the nation for constructing elements exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is made through specific lab tests that imitate real cyclone conditions.
First comes large missile impact. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at 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 very same unit deals with cyclic pressure loading, thousands of 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 difference in between "satisfies Florida building code windows" and "Miami-Dade approved windows" typically resides in these test thresholds. Miami-Dade is merely stiffer, especially in High Speed Cyclone Zone requirements, that include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind rankings differ by opening size and style pressures, signified as PSF worths. On ocean-facing residential or commercial properties or high-rises, I frequently specify units rated at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more protected direct exposures, rankings in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can suffice, however you size and specification based on the website's wind map, constructing height, and surrounding structures. An expert knows that a corner exposure at the second story needs different support than a sheltered window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs effect windows is not a one-to-one contrast. Shutters can meet code, and they're much better than absolutely nothing. But they ask you to do operate at the worst possible time. When a watch turns to a warning and the 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 constant defense, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on United States 1. You likewise get advantages every day of the year.
Noise control is the most underappreciated benefit. Laminated impact glass is basically a sandwich: two panes of glass bonded by a resistant interlayer, usually PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps noise. On jobs along busy passages like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight courses, I've measured interior noise drops in the 5 to 10 decibel range, in some cases more when coupled with insulated glass units.
Security enhances due to the fact that laminated glass resists forced entry. An intruder can shatter the outer lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the shards. They satisfy a sticky, stubborn membrane instead of a fast course inside. Insurance coverage underwriters know this, which is why policies often use credits for impact windows and doors. In my tasks, premiums usually drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the carrier and how many openings are protected.
Energy efficiency is the 3rd pillar. Energy-efficient impact windows with contemporary low-E impact glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while protecting noticeable light. That suggests less a/c need, specifically 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 effect systems. Summertime afternoon peak load stopped by approximately a ton of cooling, and the home's yearly electricity usage fell in between 12 and 18 percent. Results differ with shading, attic insulation, and heating and cooling effectiveness, however the direction is consistent.
Laminated impact glass is the heart of the system, however not all laminated items are equal.
Most residential typhoon windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, commonly 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or multiple plies. Thicker interlayers improve effect resistance and sound control, but they include weight and cost. For oceanfront or tall openings, you might see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and more powerful than PVB, enabling thinner areas to accomplish higher style pressures. For noise-sensitive sites, acoustic PVB formulations tweak 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 come up often in conversations because tempered glass is more powerful in flexing than annealed glass. That holds true, and tempered lites are typically used as the external or inner ply in an effect system. However tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the hurricane sense. When it fails, it takes off into little cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening vulnerable. The effect performance originates from laminated building and construction, not tempering by itself. Numerous systems use a tempered external lite laminated to a hardened inner lite, or both tempered, however constantly bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E finishings matter for convenience. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida normally targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 variety while keeping noticeable light transmission around 50 percent or higher. Go too short on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, specifically in larger openings. The sweet spot depends on your façade orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I often tighten up SHGC and accept a slight tint to manage early 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 due to the fact that they deal with large openings and won't swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy gap with vinyl. Premium vinyl impact frames, when strengthened correctly, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have much better insulating worths, however I avoid them for really broad sliders or high storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad systems look beautiful in older Mediterranean Revival homes, however they require careful upkeep and smart flashing. The Florida sun destroys low-cost vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum surfaces quickly. Search for powder-coated finishes ranked for coastal direct exposure, and demand written service warranty information in salt-air environments.
Window setup can make or break performance. A costly system installed like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's tension test. The load path is the core. Effect forces need to travel from the glass through the frame, to the anchors, into the substrate, and then into the structure's framing or masonry.
In cinder block construction, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong product. Hollow cells need to 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 strong trimmers, not just sheathing. Shimming and plumb alignment matter so the locks engage cleanly and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not just visual. A correctly sized backer rod and high-quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant develop a resilient, flexible seal that deals with thermal expansion. Too little a bead and it tears under motion. Too big and it treatments badly. On seaside jobs, I never match different metals without a barrier, and I always define corrosion-resistant fasteners. 10 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 count on sealant alone, water will find its way in. That moisture might not show up as a drip. It may rot a sill plate gradually, then betray itself as a buckling flooring or a moldy smell two hurricane seasons later.
I have nothing against well-designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are kept and oiled, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even detachable panels saved carefully can secure homes effectively. They also assist in specific cases.
Second homes or seasonal rentals where budget plan is tight often lean on shutters to satisfy the Florida building regulations windows requirement for safeguarded openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is hardly ever used in summer, a tidy motorized roll-down can be reasonable, especially if coupling with impact doors and windows in other places worries the budget plan. For property owners who prepare 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 released, and they require action at specifically the time you are juggling insurance papers, gas cans, and household logistics. Throughout Typhoon Irma, I saw a neighbor attempt 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 likewise rattle and can vibrate under continual winds, in some cases loosening up fasteners over time if not maintained.
For long-term owners who wish to set it and forget it, impact windows offer hurricane evidence windows coverage while preserving daylight and view. The benefit grows important once you've experienced one storm season with no preparation beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes combat 2 battles: hidden load from humidity and reasonable load from direct solar heat gain. Impact glass upgrades can assist both if defined intelligently.
Low-E effect glass uses microscopically thin metallic layers to reflect infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the right coating stacks, you can obstruct a large part of radiant heat and UV. UV obstruction in laminated units comes mainly from the interlayer itself, which typically filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, lowering fading of fabrics and flooring. Add the low-E, and you suppress the solar heat that drives your a/c crazy midafternoon.
I assess 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 closer to space temperature, which lowers condensation danger. SHGC drives just how much solar heat goes into. VT affects how intense the interior feels. Balance is essential. Some house owners want the crisp, clear look of greater VT, even if it indicates accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, because their landscaping and roofing overhangs already do some shading. Others prefer a more powerful tint for glare control on waterfront lots that show 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 exterior surfaces, and a correctly sized variable-speed a/c, and you start to build durability. If the grid decreases and you switch to a generator, a lower cooling load suggests a smaller sized generator and less gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notification of Approval, or NOA, is the document you request for. It details the authorized setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures evaluated. It is insufficient to hear "these are Miami-Dade approved windows" in a showroom. Confirm the NOA matches the specific model and alternatives you are purchasing, 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 Item Approval system provides FL numbers that show code compliance. In the rest of the state outside the High Speed Hurricane Zone, Florida building regulations windows can depend on Florida Product Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Numerous top makers bring both. Where spending plans enable, I choose NOA items even outside the zone because the screening is stiffer.
NFRC labels handle energy metrics. They will not inform you effect performance, but they show U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leak. Go for air leakage at or listed below 0.3 cfm/ft ². Tighter is better for humidity control, but make certain your home still has 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 costs vary with size, shape, finish, and access. On simple single-family homes, per-opening expenses typically 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 recover value:
If you prepare to own the home for 5 years or more, the math typically tilts in favor of effect windows, particularly when you factor the intangible of comfort. If you prepare to sell within a year and need 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 outdoor patios. Take a look at the sill design on sliding 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 films can contravene of neighborhood associations or produce mirror-like glare toward neighboring residential or commercial properties. In seaside environments, extremely reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Local pros understand which finishings balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a huge deal. Dark bronze or black frames look great on contemporary homes, but in Florida sun inexpensive surfaces chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated finishes provide the best color retention and chalk resistance. I specify them for coastal commercial storefront glazing direct exposures whenever budget plans allow.
Historic districts often need profiles that mimic old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, however lead times extend and costs climb. Expect additional review by architectural boards, and line up a professional familiar with these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations often specify a narrow list of authorized items for uniformity. They likewise appreciate sound control between units. If your building sits straight on Collins Opportunity or deals with a hectic beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated alternatives. Work with structure 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 special attention in design pressure, deflection, and running hardware. Not every system that looks tough in a showroom meets the wind loads on a ninth-floor terrace. Do not depend on brochure optimum sizes. Utilize the NOA tables that correspond to your website's zone, favorable and negative pressures, and mullion mixes if any.
The finest projects start with a measured survey and direct exposure analysis. You map each opening, note the substrate, and recognize any framing abnormalities or settlement fractures. Throughout proposition, the professional shows you the NOA and the Florida Product Approval, notes anchor types, and explains how each opening will be flashed and sealed. They prepare 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 safe. They protect floorings, pull back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames bring out care to preserve interior surfaces. New units get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The crew checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photograph anchors for the permit file, especially if they will be hidden. After glazing, they water-test with a regulated spray to confirm drainage courses and seals. The inspector sees a neat jobsite, clear labels, and documents in order.
Six months later on, your windows still close with 2 fingers, locks bite smoothly, and there is no secret rattle throughout thunderstorms. You did aluminum impact doors not have to call for a roller change after the first week. That is the standard.
Impact score does not equal breakproof. Laminated glass can break under severe impacts, but it must remain in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends debris into the glass, you might see star cracks or spidering. The window did its job. Change 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 replacement for a checked, anchored system. Your insurance company and structure department will not count films as secured openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient impact windows reduce air leakage. That's excellent, however it increases the significance of a properly sized a/c with good dehumidification. If your system is oversized, the thermostat satisfies 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 steady, longer cycles, not brief bursts.
Maintenance is uncomplicated however not optional. Clean weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lubricate hardware yearly with a silicone-based product that will not gum up in heat. Little routines extend lifespan.
There are legitimate reasons to blend solutions. A pair of hardly ever used garage windows can keep removable panels to shave spending plan. A tempered glass balcony deep-set porch with very little sun exposure may do fine with accordion shutters if you focus on other upgrades like a new roofing deck accessory or a fortified garage door. Shutters can also protect outdoor cooking 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 manual overrides for roll-downs make a difference. Appoint duty for release and practice when outside of a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you need 32 wing nuts is not the early morning you want to find you have 29.
Impact windows are not only about surviving 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 noise when a squall line passes at 2 a.m. When a cyclone threatens, your preparation list gets much shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and concentrate on people instead of panels.
For many of my customers, that intangible is the deciding factor. They know storms will come. They likewise know life in South Florida is too great to live inside a fortress that just gets up in August. Miami-Dade approved windows offer you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February early morning and quiet self-confidence when the spaghetti designs point our way in September.
If you are weighing the choice, start with a site-specific assessment. Match your exposures to develop pressures, choose the right 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 deliver what shutters can not: defense that never ever requests a ladder and a better home every day of the year.