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 transporting ladders to install panels. After 20 years defining, setting up, and fixing 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 comfort, Miami-Dade authorized, energy‑efficient impact windows exceed shutters in manner ins which go beyond storm day. They alter how a home feels in August, how quiet 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 cyclone impact-resistant windows, how to read the requirements behind "Miami-Dade authorized," what products matter, and how to get the setup right the first time.
Miami-Dade County's Item Control Department sets among the most difficult standards in the nation for constructing components exposed to windborne particles. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is made through specific laboratory tests that mimic real hurricane conditions.
First comes big missile impact. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at the glass at roughly 34 miles per hour. That imitates roofing system tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the effect, the very same system faces cyclic pressure loading, countless pressurization and depressurization cycles that simulate rapid wind gusts over hours. If the glass remains in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The distinction between "satisfies Florida building code windows" and "Miami-Dade authorized windows" often lives in these test limits. Miami-Dade is aluminum windows merely stiffer, particularly in High Speed Hurricane Zone requirements, which include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind rankings vary by opening size and style pressures, denoted as PSF values. On ocean-facing residential or commercial properties or high-rises, I frequently define units rated at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more protected exposures, ratings in the +45/ -60 PSF range can be sufficient, however you size and spec based on the site's wind map, constructing height, and surrounding structures. An expert understands that a corner direct exposure at the second story demands different support 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 nothing. But they ask you to do work at the worst possible time. When a watch turns to a warning and the projection track tightens, the last thing you desire is a ladder, a dead cordless drill, and a missing wing nut.
Impact windows live in location. You get continuous protection, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on US 1. You also get benefits every day of the year.
Noise control is the most underappreciated benefit. Laminated impact glass is basically a sandwich: 2 panes of glass bonded by a resistant interlayer, typically PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps noise. On jobs along hectic corridors like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight paths, I have actually measured interior noise drops in the 5 to 10 decibel range, sometimes more when coupled with insulated glass units.
Security enhances since laminated glass withstands required entry. An intruder can shatter the outer lite with a hammer, however the interlayer holds the fragments. They satisfy a sticky, stubborn membrane rather of a quick path inside. Insurance underwriters understand this, which is why policies frequently use credits for effect doors and windows. In my jobs, premiums generally drop 10 to 25 percent, depending on the carrier and how many openings are protected.
Energy efficiency is the 3rd pillar. Energy-efficient effect windows with contemporary low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while protecting noticeable light. That suggests less cooling demand, specifically on west and south direct exposures where the afternoon sun penalizes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we changed 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E effect units. Summer afternoon peak load dropped by approximately a lots of cooling, and the home's yearly electricity usage fell between 12 and 18 percent. Results vary with shading, attic insulation, and HVAC performance, but the direction is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, however not all laminated items are equal.
Most domestic hurricane windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, typically 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or multiple plies. Thicker interlayers improve impact resistance and sound control, but they include weight and expense. For oceanfront or tall openings, you might see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and more powerful than PVB, allowing thinner sections to accomplish higher style pressures. For noise-sensitive websites, acoustic PVB formulations tweak the polymer to much better absorb sound in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz range, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows turn up often in discussions because tempered glass is stronger in flexing than annealed glass. That's true, and tempered lites are typically used as the outer or inner ply in an effect system. However tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the cyclone sense. When it stops working, it takes off into small cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening vulnerable. The impact efficiency originates from laminated construction, not tempering by itself. Many systems use a tempered outer lite laminated to an annealed inner lite, or both tempered, however always bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E coverings matter for comfort. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida generally 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 low on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, particularly in larger openings. The sweet area depends upon your façade orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I often tighten SHGC and accept a slight tint to handle early morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I lean toward higher noticeable transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames dominate here due to the fact that they handle large openings and won't swell. Thermal breaks and enhanced glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy gap with vinyl. Top quality vinyl effect frames, when strengthened properly, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have better insulating worths, but I avoid them for extremely broad sliders or tall storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look stunning in older Mediterranean Revival homes, however they demand mindful upkeep and smart flashing. The Florida sun ruins cheap vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum surfaces rapidly. Search for powder-coated surfaces rated for coastal direct exposure, and request written guarantee details in salt-air environments.

Window setup can make or break efficiency. A pricey unit installed like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's tension test. The load path is the essence. Impact forces have to take a trip from the glass through the frame, to the anchors, into the substrate, and after that into the structure's framing or masonry.
In cinder block construction, you desire 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 occur. In wood-framed homes, structural screws need to bite into solid trimmers, not simply sheathing. Shimming and plumb alignment matter so the locks engage cleanly and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not just visual. An appropriately sized backer rod and top quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant produce a durable, flexible seal that deals with thermal growth. Too little a bead and it tears under movement. Too big and it treatments poorly. On coastal tasks, I never ever match different metals without a barrier, and I constantly specify 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 integration with the water-resistive barrier are essential. If you rely on sealant alone, water will find its method. That moisture might not show up as a drip. It might rot a sill plate slowly, then betray itself as a buckling flooring or a moldy odor two hurricane seasons later.
I have absolutely nothing versus properly designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are maintained and lubricated, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even detachable panels saved carefully can protect homes efficiently. They also help in certain cases.
Second homes or seasonal rentals where spending plan is tight often lean on shutters to satisfy the Florida building code windows requirement for safeguarded openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is hardly ever used in summer season, a clean motorized roll-down can be reasonable, specifically if pairing with effect doors and windows in other places 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 house when released, and they need action at precisely the time you are managing insurance coverage documents, gas cans, and household logistics. During Cyclone Irma, I viewed a next-door neighbor try to install steel panels hours before landfall. The ladder sank in saturated soil, a panel slipped, and we invested the next hour in the immediate care waiting room. He made it through with stitches. His living-room window did not. Shutters likewise rattle and can vibrate under sustained winds, in some cases loosening up fasteners in time if not maintained.
For long-lasting owners who wish to set it and forget it, effect windows give cyclone evidence windows protection while maintaining daylight and view. The convenience grows important once you've experienced one storm season with absolutely no preparation beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes battle two fights: hidden load from humidity and reasonable load from direct solar heat gain. Impact glass upgrades can assist both if defined intelligently.
Low-E impact glass uses microscopically thin metallic layers to reflect infrared energy while letting noticeable light through. With the ideal finish stacks, you can block a large portion of radiant heat and UV. UV obstruction in laminated systems comes mostly from the interlayer itself, which typically 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 a/c crazy midafternoon.
I examine glass specifications 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 level, which minimizes condensation threat. SHGC drives how much solar heat goes into. VT influences how bright the interior feels. Balance is essential. Some house owners want the crisp, clear appearance of higher VT, even if it implies accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, because their landscaping and roof overhangs already do some shading. Others prefer a more powerful tint for glare control on waterfront lots that show window replacement harsh light.
In practical terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to modern low-E laminated double-glazed units can minimize peak solar gains by 30 to 50 percent on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored outside finishes, and a correctly sized variable-speed a/c, and you start to build resilience. If the grid goes down and you change to a generator, a lower cooling load means a smaller generator and fewer gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance, or NOA, is the document you request for. It information the authorized setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures tested. It is inadequate to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" in a display room. Confirm the NOA matches the exact model and options you are purchasing, including the glazing makeup and hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your permitting office 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 Speed Hurricane Zone, Florida building regulations windows can depend on Florida Product Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Lots of top makers bring both. Where budget plans allow, I prefer NOA items even outside the zone since the testing is stiffer.
NFRC labels handle energy metrics. They won't inform you effect performance, but they show U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leakage. Aim for air leakage at or 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 overlooking hurricane impact doors and windows fresh air is a recipe for indoor air quality complaints.
Impact windows cost more in advance than shutters. There's no spin around that. Installed expenses differ with size, shape, finish, and gain access to. On straightforward single-family homes, per-opening costs typically 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 value:
If you prepare to own the home for 5 years or more, the math frequently tilts in favor of impact windows, especially when you factor the intangible of comfort. If you prepare to sell within a year and need to reveal compliance quickly, shutters might make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I take notice of hardware and accessories. Multi-point locks on sashes and awnings improve seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless real estates glide smoother and last longer on sandy patio areas. Take a look at the sill design on sliding doors. Weep systems ought to be engineered to drain pipes 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 run afoul of neighborhood associations or produce mirror-like glare towards surrounding properties. In seaside communities, highly reflective glass can puzzle birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Local pros understand which coverings balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a huge deal. Dark bronze or black frames look wonderful on modern-day homes, but in Florida sun low-cost surfaces chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coatings offer the very best color retention and chalk resistance. I specify them for seaside exposures whenever budget plans allow.

Historic districts frequently need profiles that simulate old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, however lead times lengthen and costs climb. Anticipate additional evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a contractor acquainted with these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations sometimes define a narrow list of approved products for uniformity. They also appreciate sound control in between systems. If your structure 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 unique attention in style pressure, deflection, and operating hardware. Not every system that looks durable in a showroom satisfies the wind loads on a ninth-floor veranda. Do not depend on catalog optimum sizes. Utilize the NOA tables that represent your site's zone, positive and impact window ratings unfavorable pressures, and mullion combinations if any.
The finest tasks start with a measured study and direct exposure analysis. You map each opening, keep in mind the substrate, and recognize any framing irregularities or double-pane tempered glass settlement cracks. During proposition, the specialist 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 install day, they remove one opening at a time to keep your house secure. They secure floorings, pull back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames come out with care to preserve 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 license file, particularly if they will be hidden. After glazing, they water-test with a controlled spray to confirm 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 mystery rattle throughout thunderstorms. You did not have to require a roller modification after the first week. That is the standard.
Impact rating does not equal breakproof. Laminated glass can break under severe effects, however it must remain in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends out particles into the glass, you may see star fractures or spidering. The window did its task. Change the sash or IGU after the event.
Window movies do not convert non-impact windows into hurricane impact-resistant windows. They can include shatter resistance, but they do not alternative to an evaluated, anchored system. Your insurer and structure department will not count films as safeguarded openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient effect windows lower air leakage. That's excellent, but it increases the value of a correctly sized a/c with great dehumidification. If your system is large, the thermostat satisfies quickly and stops working to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your a/c pro to examine reasonable heat ratio, air flow, and run time. You want stable, longer cycles, not brief bursts.
Maintenance is simple however not optional. Clean 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 blend solutions. A set of rarely utilized garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave budget. A deep-set deck with very little sun direct exposure may do great with accordion shutters if you prioritize other upgrades like a new roof deck attachment or a fortified garage door. Shutters can likewise secure outside cooking areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age expensive hardware prematurely.
If you pick shutters, purchase quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with handbook bypasses for roll-downs make a distinction. Assign obligation for release and practice when outside of a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you need 32 wing nuts is not the morning you want to discover 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 sound 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 rather than panels.
For a lot of my clients, that intangible is the choosing aspect. They understand storms will come. They also understand life in South Florida is too excellent 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 early morning and quiet confidence when the spaghetti designs point our method September.
If you are weighing the option, begin with a site-specific evaluation. Match your direct exposures to design pressures, pick the ideal laminated glass stack for wind and heat, select frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and employ a team 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 much better home every day of the year.