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 next-door neighbors track tropical waves, the pre-storm rush to stockpile, and the routine of carrying ladders to mount panels. After 20 years defining, installing, and fixing building envelopes from Key Largo to Palm Beach, I have actually seen what holds up and what does not. When the goal is real defense with year-round convenience, Miami-Dade approved, energy‑efficient impact windows exceed shutters in manner ins which exceed storm day. They change how a house feels in August, how quiet your living room stays on a Saturday night, and how positive you are when a storm line spins up faster than predicted.
This is a practical look at why numerous South Florida homeowners are moving from shutters to cyclone impact-resistant windows, how to read the standards behind "Miami-Dade authorized," what materials matter, and how to get the installation right the first time.
Miami-Dade County's Product Control Division sets one of the toughest benchmarks in the country for building components exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker label. It is earned through particular laboratory tests that replicate real typhoon conditions.
First comes large rocket effect. A 9-pound 2x4 is contended the glass at approximately 34 miles per hour. That mimics roofing tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the effect, the very same unit faces cyclic pressure loading, thousands of pressurization and depressurization cycles that imitate quick 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 approved windows" often resides in these test thresholds. Miami-Dade is simply stiffer, particularly in High Speed Typhoon Zone requirements, which include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind scores vary by opening size and style pressures, denoted as PSF worths. On ocean-facing properties or high-rises, I typically define systems rated at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more safeguarded direct exposures, scores in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can be enough, but you size and spec based upon the site's wind map, building height, and surrounding structures. A professional understands that a corner exposure at the second story demands different support than a protected window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs impact windows is not a one-to-one comparison. Shutters can fulfill code, and they're better than absolutely nothing. However they ask you to do work at the worst possible time. When a watch turns to a caution and the projection track quality impact windows Boca Raton 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 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 effect glass is basically a sandwich: 2 panes of glass bonded by a durable interlayer, generally 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 variety, in some cases more when coupled with insulated glass units.
Security enhances since laminated glass withstands forced entry. A robber can shatter the external lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the fragments. They fulfill a sticky, persistent membrane rather of a fast path inside. Insurance underwriters understand this, which is why policies frequently offer credits for effect windows and doors. In my jobs, premiums normally drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the carrier and the number of openings are protected.
Energy performance is the third pillar. Energy-efficient effect windows with modern low-E impact glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while preserving noticeable light. That implies less cooling demand, especially on west and south direct exposures where the afternoon sun punishes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we changed 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E impact units. Summertime afternoon peak load visited roughly a lots of cooling, and the home's annual electrical energy usage fell between 12 and 18 percent. Outcomes differ with shading, attic insulation, and heating and cooling efficiency, but the direction is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, however not all laminated items are equal.
Most residential typhoon windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, frequently 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or multiple plies. Thicker interlayers enhance impact resistance and sound control, but they add weight and cost. For oceanfront or high openings, you might see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and more powerful than PVB, enabling thinner sections to achieve higher style pressures. For noise-sensitive websites, acoustic PVB formulas 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 come up typically in discussions due to the fact that tempered glass is more powerful in flexing than annealed glass. That's true, and tempered lites are commonly used as the external or inner ply in an impact system. But tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the cyclone sense. When it stops working, it explodes into little cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening vulnerable. The effect performance originates from laminated construction, not tempering by itself. Numerous systems use a tempered external lite laminated to an annealed inner lite, or both tempered, however constantly bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E finishes 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 bigger openings. The sweet spot depends on your exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I often tighten up SHGC and accept a small tint to handle morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I lean toward higher visible transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames control here because they manage large openings and will not swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy space with vinyl. Top quality vinyl effect frames, when enhanced effectively, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have much better insulating worths, however I prevent them for really broad sliders or high storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad systems look stunning in older Mediterranean Revival homes, however they require careful maintenance and wise flashing. The Florida sun ruins low-cost vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum finishes rapidly. Try to find powder-coated finishes rated for coastal exposure, and demand composed warranty details in salt-air environments.
Window setup can make or break performance. A costly unit installed like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's tension test. The load course is the crux. Impact forces need 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 concrete block construction, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong material. Hollow cells need to be grouted or you need to hit the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to take place. In wood-framed houses, structural screws need to bite into strong trimmers, not simply sheathing. Shimming and plumb positioning matter so the locks engage easily and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
 
The sealant joint is not simply aesthetic. A properly sized backer rod and high-quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant develop a long lasting, versatile seal that deals with thermal expansion. Too small a bead and it tears under movement. Too big and it cures poorly. On coastal tasks, I never combine different metals without a barrier, and I always define corrosion-resistant fasteners. Ten years later, you will see who took shortcuts.
Flashing is the other non-negotiable. Pan flashing at sills, self-adhered membranes at jambs and heads, and combination with the water-resistive barrier are important. If you rely on sealant alone, water will discover its method. That moisture may not show up as a drip. It might rot a sill plate gradually, then betray itself as a buckling flooring or a moldy smell 2 typhoon seasons later.
I have absolutely nothing versus well-designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are kept and lubed, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even detachable panels stored thoroughly can safeguard homes effectively. They likewise assist in particular cases.
Second homes or seasonal leasings where budget is tight sometimes lean on shutters to fulfill the Florida building code windows requirement for protected openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is rarely used in summertime, a tidy motorized roll-down can be affordable, particularly if pairing with impact windows and doors somewhere else worries the budget plan. For homeowners 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 house when deployed, and they need action at precisely the time you are managing insurance coverage documents, gas cans, and household logistics. Throughout Typhoon Irma, I saw a next-door 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 space. He survived with stitches. His living-room window did not. Shutters also rattle and can vibrate under sustained winds, sometimes loosening up fasteners gradually if not maintained.
For long-term owners who want to set it and forget it, effect windows give typhoon evidence windows protection while preserving daylight and view. The benefit grows important once you have actually experienced one storm season with zero preparation beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes combat two battles: hidden load from humidity and practical load from direct solar heat gain. Effect glass upgrades can assist both if specified intelligently.
Boca Raton residential window installationLow-E effect glass uses microscopically thin metallic layers to reflect infrared energy while letting noticeable light through. With the right coating stacks, you can obstruct a big portion of radiant heat and UV. UV obstruction in laminated units comes largely from the interlayer itself, which normally 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 AC insane midafternoon.
I evaluate glass specs with three numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still helps here by reducing nighttime heat circulation and keeping the interior glass temperature closer to room temperature, which decreases condensation danger. SHGC drives just how much solar heat enters. VT influences how brilliant the interior feels. Balance is crucial. Some homeowners want the crisp, clear appearance of greater VT, even if it suggests accepting a few degrees more heat in late afternoon, due to the fact that their landscaping and roofing overhangs already do some shading. Others choose a more powerful tint for glare control on waterside lots that reflect extreme light.
In useful terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to contemporary 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 begin to build resilience. If the grid decreases and you switch to a generator, a lower cooling load suggests a smaller sized generator and fewer gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notification of Acceptance, or NOA, is the document you request. It information the approved setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures evaluated. It is inadequate to hear "these are Miami-Dade approved windows" in a display room. Validate the NOA matches the exact model and alternatives you are purchasing, including the glazing makeup and hardware. If you are in Broward or Miami-Dade, your permitting workplace will want this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Item Approval system offers FL numbers that show code compliance. In the rest of the state outside the High Speed Typhoon Zone, Florida building regulations windows can rely on Florida Product Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Many top makers carry both. Where budgets allow, I choose NOA products even outside the zone since the screening is stiffer.
NFRC labels deal with energy metrics. They will not inform you effect performance, but 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, however make sure your home still has actually balanced ventilation. Sealing the envelope and disregarding fresh air is a dish for indoor air quality complaints.
Impact windows cost more upfront than shutters. There's no spin around that. Set up expenses differ with size, shape, finish, and gain access to. On uncomplicated single-family homes, per-opening costs frequently 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 recoup value:
If you prepare to own the home for 5 years or more, the mathematics often tilts in favor of impact windows, especially when you factor the intangible of comfort. If you prepare to offer within a year and require to reveal compliance rapidly, shutters might make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I take note of hardware and devices. Multi-point locks on sashes and awnings enhance seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless real estates slide smoother and last longer on sandy patio areas. Look at the sill style on sliding doors. Weep systems must 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 fashion. Reflective movies can run afoul of neighborhood associations or produce mirror-like glare toward neighboring residential or commercial properties. In seaside communities, extremely reflective glass can puzzle birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Regional pros know which coatings balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a big deal. Dark bronze or black frames look wonderful on contemporary homes, but in Florida sun low-cost surfaces chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coatings provide the best color retention and chalk resistance. I specify them for seaside exposures whenever budgets allow.
Historic districts frequently need profiles that mimic old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, however lead times lengthen and costs climb. Expect additional evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a contractor knowledgeable about these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations sometimes define a narrow list of approved products for uniformity. They also appreciate sound control between units. If your building sits straight on Collins Opportunity or faces a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated options. Deal with building management on staging and lift gain access to. Weekend work windows and minimal parking can add days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, need unique attention in style pressure, deflection, and operating hardware. Not every unit that looks tough in a display room satisfies the wind loads on a ninth-floor balcony. Do not depend on brochure optimum sizes. Utilize the NOA tables that represent your website's zone, favorable and unfavorable pressures, and mullion combinations if any.
The finest tasks start with a measured study and exposure analysis. You map each opening, keep in mind the substrate, and determine residential hurricane proof windows any framing abnormalities or settlement fractures. Throughout proposition, the contractor shows you the NOA and the Florida Item Approval, lists anchor types, and discusses 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 remove one opening at a time to keep the house safe. They secure floors, pull back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames come out with care to preserve interior finishes. New systems get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The crew 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 regulated spray to confirm drain paths and seals. The inspector sees a neat jobsite, clear labels, and documentation in order.
Six months later, your windows still close with 2 fingers, locks bite smoothly, and there is no mystery rattle during thunderstorms. You did not have to call for a roller modification after the very first week. That is the standard.
Impact score does not equal breakproof. Laminated glass can crack under extreme impacts, but it should stay 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 job. Replace the sash or IGU after the event.
Window films do not transform non-impact windows into typhoon impact-resistant windows. They can add shatter resistance, however they do not alternative to an evaluated, anchored system. Your insurer and structure department will not count films as secured openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient impact windows decrease air leakage. That's terrific, however it increases the value of an appropriately sized a/c with good dehumidification. If your system is oversized, the thermostat pleases quickly and stops working to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your heating and cooling pro to inspect reasonable heat ratio, air flow, and run time. You desire steady, longer cycles, not brief bursts.
Maintenance is simple but not optional. Tidy weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lube hardware each year with a silicone-based product that will not gum up in heat. Little routines extend lifespan.
There are legitimate factors to blend solutions. A pair of rarely utilized garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave budget plan. A deep-set patio with very little sun exposure may do fine with accordion shutters if you prioritize other upgrades like a brand-new roof deck accessory or a prepared garage door. Shutters can also safeguard outside cooking areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age expensive hardware prematurely.
If you pick shutters, buy quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with manual bypasses for roll-downs make a difference. Designate responsibility for release and practice once outside of a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you require 32 wing nuts is not the morning you want to discover you have 29.
Impact windows are not only about enduring the huge one. They improve daily living. The living room stays cooler and quieter. The a/c 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 instead of panels.
For much of my clients, that intangible is the deciding element. They know storms will come. They likewise 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 self-confidence when the spaghetti designs point our method September.
If you are weighing the choice, begin with a site-specific evaluation. Match your direct exposures to develop pressures, pick 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 impact windows deliver what shutters can not: protection that never requests a ladder and a much better home every day of the year.