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 stockpile, and the routine of transporting ladders to install panels. After two decades specifying, installing, and repairing structure envelopes from Secret Largo to Palm Beach, I've seen what holds up and what does not. When the goal is real security with year-round comfort, Miami-Dade approved, energy‑efficient impact windows outshine 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 confident you are when a storm line spins up much faster than predicted.
This is a practical look at why lots of South Florida homeowners are moving from shutters to cyclone impact-resistant windows, how to check out the standards behind "Miami-Dade approved," what products matter, and how to get the installation right the first time.
Miami-Dade County's Product Control Division sets one of the toughest standards in the nation for developing parts exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker label. It is earned through specific laboratory tests that simulate real typhoon conditions.
First comes large rocket impact. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at the glass at approximately 34 miles per hour. That mimics roof tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the impact, the same unit faces cyclic pressure loading, countless 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 difference between "satisfies Florida building regulations windows" and "Miami-Dade authorized windows" frequently lives in these test thresholds. Miami-Dade is just stiffer, particularly in High Speed Cyclone Zone requirements, which include Miami-Dade and Broward.

Wind ratings differ by opening size and style pressures, signified 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 safeguarded direct exposures, ratings in the +45/ -60 PSF range can be sufficient, however you size and specification based on the site's wind map, developing height, and surrounding structures. An expert understands that a corner exposure at the 2nd story needs various reinforcement than a protected window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs effect windows is not a one-to-one contrast. Shutters can meet code, and they're better than absolutely nothing. But they ask you to do operate at the worst possible time. When a watch turns to a caution and the projection track tightens up, 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 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 impact glass is basically a sandwich: 2 panes of glass bonded by a resilient interlayer, normally PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps noise. On jobs along busy passages like Biscayne Boulevard or residential hurricane proof windows near flight paths, I've measured interior sound drops in the 5 to 10 decibel range, often more when coupled with insulated glass units.
Security enhances since laminated glass withstands forced entry. An intruder can shatter the external lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the shards. They satisfy a sticky, stubborn membrane rather of a fast path inside. Insurance underwriters understand this, which is why policies frequently use credits for impact windows and doors. In my jobs, premiums usually drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the carrier and how many openings are protected.

Energy efficiency is the third pillar. Energy-efficient impact windows with contemporary low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while preserving visible light. That indicates less air conditioning demand, specifically 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 effect units. Summertime afternoon peak load visited approximately a lots of cooling, and the home's yearly electricity use fell in between 12 and 18 percent. Results vary with shading, attic insulation, and a/c performance, but the direction is consistent.
Laminated impact glass is the heart of the system, but not all laminated items are equal.
Most domestic cyclone windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, commonly 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or numerous plies. Thicker interlayers enhance impact resistance and sound control, however they include weight and cost. For oceanfront or high openings, you may see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and more powerful than PVB, permitting thinner areas to attain greater style pressures. For noise-sensitive websites, acoustic PVB formulations fine-tune the polymer to better soak up noise in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz range, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows come up typically in conversations since tempered glass is stronger in bending than annealed glass. That holds true, and tempered lites are frequently utilized as the outer or inner ply in an impact unit. But tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the hurricane sense. When it fails, it explodes into little cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening vulnerable. The impact efficiency comes from laminated building, not tempering by itself. Many systems use a tempered outer lite laminated to a hardened inner lite, or both tempered, however always bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E coatings 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 range while keeping noticeable light transmission around 50 percent or greater. Go too short on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, particularly in bigger openings. The sweet spot depends on your façade orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I typically tighten up SHGC and accept a slight tint to manage morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I lean toward greater visible transmittance affordable impact windows for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames control here due to the fact that they manage big openings and will not swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy gap with vinyl. Top quality vinyl effect frames, when strengthened properly, can perform well for standard-sized openings and have much better insulating worths, however I avoid them for very wide sliders or high storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad systems look stunning in older Mediterranean Revival homes, but they demand cautious maintenance and smart flashing. The Florida sun destroys cheap vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum finishes rapidly. Try to find powder-coated surfaces ranked for coastal direct exposure, and demand composed guarantee details in salt-air environments.
Window installation can make or break performance. A pricey system installed like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's stress test. The load path is the core. Impact 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 desire stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong material. Hollow cells must be grouted or you need to strike the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to happen. In wood-framed homes, structural screws need to bite into strong trimmers, not just sheathing. Shimming and plumb alignment matter so the locks engage easily and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not simply visual. An appropriately 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 movement. Too huge and it remedies poorly. On seaside tasks, I never combine different metals without a barrier, impact windows for homes and I constantly define corrosion-resistant fasteners. Ten years later on, you will see who took shortcuts.
Flashing is the other non-negotiable. Pan flashing at sills, self-adhered membranes at jambs and heads, and combination with the water-resistive barrier are crucial. If you depend 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 musty smell 2 hurricane seasons later.
I have nothing versus well-designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are kept and oiled, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels saved carefully can safeguard homes successfully. They likewise assist in particular cases.
Second homes or seasonal leasings where spending plan is tight sometimes lean on shutters to meet the Florida building regulations windows requirement for secured openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is seldom used in summer, a tidy motorized roll-down can be reasonable, especially if coupling with impact windows and doors elsewhere worries the budget. For house 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 the house when deployed, and they need action at exactly the time you are handling insurance coverage papers, gas cans, and household logistics. Throughout Cyclone Irma, I enjoyed a neighbor try to install steel panels hours before landfall. The ladder sank in saturated soil, a panel slipped, and we spent the next hour in the immediate custom window installation services care waiting space. He made it through with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters likewise rattle and can vibrate under continual winds, often loosening up fasteners over time if not maintained.
For long-term owners who wish to set it and forget it, effect windows provide typhoon evidence windows protection while maintaining daytime and view. The benefit grows important once you have actually experienced one storm season with zero preparation beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes fight two battles: hidden load from humidity and sensible load from direct solar heat gain. Impact glass upgrades can assist both if defined intelligently.
Low-E impact glass utilizes microscopically thin metal layers to reflect infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the best coating stacks, you can block a large part of radiant heat and UV. UV clog in laminated systems comes mainly from the interlayer itself, which typically filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, minimizing fading of fabrics and floor covering. Include the low-E, and you curb the solar heat that drives your air conditioner crazy midafternoon.
I assess glass specs with three numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still assists here by minimizing nighttime heat flow and keeping the interior glass temperature level closer to space temperature, which reduces condensation threat. SHGC drives how much solar heat enters. VT affects how intense the interior feels. Balance is essential. Some house owners desire the crisp, clear look of higher VT, even if it implies accepting a few degrees more heat in late afternoon, since their landscaping and roofing system overhangs currently do some shading. Others choose a stronger tint for glare control on waterfront lots that show severe light.
In practical terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to contemporary low-E laminated double-glazed systems can decrease peak solar gains by 30 to 50 percent on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored exterior surfaces, and an effectively sized variable-speed heating and cooling, and you begin to construct strength. If the grid decreases and you switch to a generator, a lower cooling load implies a smaller sized generator and fewer gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notice of Approval, or NOA, is the document you request. It details the approved configurations, sizes, anchors, and pressures evaluated. It is inadequate to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" in a display room. Verify the NOA matches the precise design and alternatives you are purchasing, including the glazing makeup and hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your allowing office will want this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Product Approval system provides FL numbers that reveal code compliance. In the rest of the state outside the High Speed Hurricane Zone, Florida building code windows can depend on Florida Item Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Numerous leading manufacturers carry both. Where budgets allow, I prefer NOA products even outside the zone due to the fact that the testing is stiffer.
NFRC labels manage energy metrics. They will not tell you impact performance, however they reveal U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leakage. Go for air leak at or below 0.3 cfm/ft ². Tighter is better for humidity control, but make sure 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. Set up expenses vary with size, shape, finish, and gain access to. On simple single-family homes, per-opening costs typically land 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 worth:
If you plan to own the property for 5 years or more, the math often tilts in favor of impact windows, particularly when you factor the intangible of assurance. If you plan to offer within a year and require to show compliance quickly, shutters may make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I take notice of 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 patio areas. Take a look at the sill style on moving doors. Weep systems must be engineered to drain pipes heavy rains without letting wind-driven water blow back in. Ask to see a cutaway sample in the showroom.
Tint colors and reflectivity are more than style. Reflective movies can run afoul of neighborhood associations or produce mirror-like glare toward neighboring properties. In coastal environments, extremely reflective glass can puzzle birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Local pros understand which finishings balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a huge offer. Dark bronze or black frames look great on modern-day homes, however in Florida sun cheap surfaces chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coverings provide the very best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for seaside exposures whenever budgets allow.
Historic districts frequently require profiles that imitate old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, however lead times extend and costs climb. Expect extra review by architectural boards, and line up a specialist knowledgeable about these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations often specify a narrow list of authorized items for uniformity. They likewise care about sound control between units. If your structure sits straight on Collins Avenue or deals with a hectic beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated alternatives. Deal with building management on staging and lift gain access to. Weekend work windows and limited 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 strong in a display room meets the wind loads on a ninth-floor terrace. Do not rely on brochure maximum sizes. Utilize the NOA tables that represent your website's zone, positive and negative pressures, and mullion mixes if any.
The best jobs start with a determined study and exposure analysis. You map each opening, note the substrate, and determine any framing irregularities or settlement fractures. During proposition, the professional shows you the NOA and the Florida Item Approval, notes anchor types, and describes how each opening will be flashed and sealed. They plan for stucco or drywall repairs, not pretend no damage will occur.
On install day, they eliminate one opening at a time to keep your house protected. They safeguard floorings, draw back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames come out with care to preserve 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 quality hurricane proof windows the permit file, specifically if they will be hidden. After glazing, they water-test with a controlled spray to verify drain paths and seals. The inspector sees a cool jobsite, clear labels, and documents in order.
Six months later, your windows still close with 2 fingers, locks bite efficiently, and there is no mystery rattle during thunderstorms. You did not need to require a roller change after the first week. That is the standard.
Impact rating does not equivalent breakproof. Laminated glass can crack under serious impacts, but it should remain 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 task. Change the sash or IGU after the event.
Window films do not convert non-impact windows into hurricane impact-resistant windows. They can add shatter resistance, but they do not substitute for a tested, anchored system. Your insurer and structure department will not count films as secured openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient effect windows lower air leakage. That's great, however it increases the value of a correctly sized HVAC with good dehumidification. If your system is oversized, the thermostat pleases rapidly and fails to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your a/c pro to inspect reasonable heat ratio, airflow, and run time. You want constant, longer cycles, not short bursts.
Maintenance is straightforward but not optional. Tidy weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and oil hardware yearly with a silicone-based product that will not gum up in heat. Little practices extend lifespan.
There are legitimate reasons to mix solutions. A pair of hardly ever utilized garage windows can keep removable panels to shave spending plan. A deep-set deck with minimal sun exposure may do fine with accordion shutters if you focus on other upgrades like a brand-new roofing deck accessory or a fortified garage door. Shutters can likewise protect outside cooking areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age elegant hardware prematurely.
If you select shutters, invest in quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with handbook bypasses for roll-downs make a distinction. Assign responsibility for deployment and practice once 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 only about enduring the big one. They reshape daily living. The living room remains cooler and quieter. The air conditioning cycles calmly rather of racing at 4 p.m. You sleep without freight trains of wind noise when a squall line passes at 2 a.m. When a typhoon threatens, your preparation list gets much shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and concentrate on individuals rather than panels.
For a number of my customers, that intangible is the deciding factor. They understand 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 offer you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February early morning and quiet self-confidence when the spaghetti models point our way in September.
If you are weighing the choice, start with a site-specific evaluation. Match your direct exposures to create pressures, pick the right laminated glass stack for wind and heat, select frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and hire a crew that appreciates the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient effect windows deliver what shutters can not: defense that never requests a ladder and a much better home every day of the year.