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 specifying, setting up, and repairing building envelopes from Secret Largo to Palm Beach, I've seen what holds up and what does not. When the objective is real defense with year-round comfort, Miami-Dade approved, energy‑efficient impact windows outperform shutters in ways that go beyond storm day. They alter 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 useful take a look at why lots of South Florida homeowners are moving from shutters to cyclone impact-resistant windows, how to check out the requirements behind "Miami-Dade approved," what products matter, and how to get the setup right the very first time.
Miami-Dade County's Product Control Division sets among the most difficult standards in the nation for developing elements exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker label. It is made through specific lab tests that simulate real hurricane conditions.
First comes big rocket effect. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at the glass at approximately 34 miles per hour. That imitates roof tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the impact, the same system faces cyclic pressure loading, thousands of 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 in between "fulfills Florida building code windows" and "Miami-Dade authorized windows" often lives in these test limits. Miami-Dade is merely stiffer, especially in High Speed Hurricane Zone requirements, that include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind scores differ by opening size and design pressures, signified as PSF worths. On ocean-facing residential or commercial properties or high-rises, I typically specify units rated at +60/ -80 PSF or greater. Inland or in more protected exposures, scores 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 knows that a corner direct exposure at the 2nd story needs various support than a sheltered window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs effect windows is not a one-to-one contrast. Shutters can satisfy code, and they're much better than nothing. However they ask you to do operate 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 reside in location. You get continuous defense, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on US 1. You also get benefits 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 resistant interlayer, generally PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps noise. On tasks along busy corridors like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight paths, I've measured interior noise drops in the 5 to 10 decibel range, often more when coupled with insulated glass units.
Security improves due to the fact that laminated glass resists required entry. An intruder can shatter the outer lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the fragments. They fulfill a sticky, persistent membrane rather of a fast path inside. Insurance underwriters know this, which is why policies typically provide credits for effect doors and windows. In my projects, premiums typically drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the carrier and how many openings are protected.
Energy efficiency is the third pillar. Energy-efficient effect windows with modern low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while preserving visible light. That suggests less cooling need, specifically on west and south exposures where the afternoon sun punishes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we changed 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E effect systems. Summer afternoon peak load stopped by approximately a ton of cooling, and the home's yearly electrical power use fell between 12 and 18 percent. Results vary with shading, attic insulation, and a/c effectiveness, but the instructions is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, however not all laminated products are equal.
Most domestic cyclone windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, typically 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or several plies. Thicker interlayers improve effect resistance and sound control, but they include weight and expense. For oceanfront or high openings, you might see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, enabling thinner sections to accomplish greater style pressures. For noise-sensitive websites, acoustic PVB solutions modify the polymer to better soak up sound in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz range, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows turn up often in discussions due to the fact that tempered glass is stronger in flexing than annealed glass. That holds true, and tempered lites are typically utilized as the outer or inner ply in an impact system. However tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the typhoon sense. When it fails, it takes off into small cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening susceptible. The impact performance originates from laminated building and construction, not tempering by itself. Numerous systems utilize 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 convenience. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida generally targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 variety while keeping noticeable light transmission around half 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 exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I often tighten up SHGC and accept a small tint to manage morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I favor greater visible transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames control here since they handle large openings and won't swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy space with vinyl. Premium vinyl impact frames, when reinforced correctly, can carry out well for standard-sized openings insurance discounts for impact windows and have better insulating values, however I prevent them for really broad sliders or high storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look beautiful in older Mediterranean Revival homes, however they require mindful maintenance and wise flashing. The Florida sun damages inexpensive vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum surfaces quickly. Look for powder-coated surfaces rated for seaside exposure, and request written guarantee details in salt-air environments.
Window installation can make or break performance. A costly unit set up 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 cinder block building, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into solid product. Hollow cells should be grouted or you need to strike the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to take place. In wood-framed homes, structural screws must bite into solid trimmers, not simply sheathing. Shimming and plumb positioning matter so the locks engage easily and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not just visual. An appropriately sized backer rod and premium polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant produce a durable, flexible seal that deals with thermal growth. Too small a bead and it tears under movement. Too big and it treatments poorly. On coastal jobs, I never pair dissimilar metals without a barrier, and I constantly specify 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 integration with the water-resistive barrier are essential. If you rely on sealant alone, water will find its method. That moisture may disappoint up as a drip. It might rot a sill plate gradually, then betray itself as a buckling flooring or a moldy odor two cyclone seasons later.
I have absolutely nothing against well-designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are kept and oiled, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even detachable panels kept carefully can secure homes effectively. They also assist in specific cases.
Second homes or seasonal rentals where spending plan is tight in some cases lean on shutters to meet the Florida building regulations windows requirement for protected openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is hardly ever utilized in summertime, a clean motorized roll-down can be affordable, particularly if pairing with impact doors and windows in other places worries the spending plan. For house owners who plan to move within a year, shutters can be a brief bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring compromises. They darken your home when released, and they require action at specifically the time you are juggling insurance coverage papers, gas cans, and family logistics. During Typhoon Irma, I viewed a next-door neighbor attempt to install 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 fasteners over time if not maintained.
For long-term owners who wish to set it and forget it, impact windows provide typhoon proof windows protection while protecting daytime and view. The benefit grows valuable once you have actually experienced one storm season with zero prep beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes combat 2 fights: latent load from humidity and practical load from direct solar heat gain. Impact glass upgrades can help both if defined intelligently.
Low-E impact glass utilizes microscopically thin metal layers to reflect infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the right finish stacks, you can obstruct a big part of convected heat and UV. UV obstruction in laminated systems comes mainly from the interlayer itself, which normally filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, lowering fading of materials and flooring. Include the low-E, and you curb the solar heat that drives your a/c insane 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 minimizing nighttime heat flow and keeping the interior glass temperature closer to room temperature level, which reduces condensation risk. SHGC drives just how much solar heat gets in. VT affects how intense the interior feels. Balance is key. Some property owners want the crisp, clear appearance of higher VT, even if it means accepting a few degrees more heat in late afternoon, since 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 units can reduce peak solar gains by 30 to 50 percent on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored exterior surfaces, and an appropriately sized variable-speed HVAC, and you begin to develop strength. If the grid decreases and you change to a generator, a lower cooling load implies a smaller generator and less gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notice of Approval, or NOA, is the file 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 showroom. Validate the NOA matches the exact model and alternatives you are purchasing, consisting of the glazing makeup and hardware. If you are in Broward or Miami-Dade, your allowing workplace will want this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Product Approval system supplies FL numbers that reveal code compliance. In the remainder of the state outside the High Speed Hurricane Zone, Florida building regulations windows can depend on Florida Item Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Lots of leading producers bring both. Where spending plans permit, I choose NOA items even outside the zone since the screening is stiffer.
NFRC labels deal with energy metrics. They will not tell you effect efficiency, however they show U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leakage. Go for air leak at or listed below 0.3 cfm/ft TWO. Tighter is much better for humidity control, but make sure your home still has actually stabilized ventilation. Sealing the envelope and ignoring fresh air is a dish for indoor air quality complaints.
Impact windows cost more in advance than shutters. There's no spin around that. Installed expenses differ with size, shape, surface, and access. On straightforward single-family homes, per-opening costs typically land in between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for basic sizes. Large multi-panel sliders, customized arches, and coastal-grade finishes raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recoup value:

If you prepare to own the home for 5 years or more, the math typically tilts in favor of effect windows, especially when you factor the intangible of peace of mind. If you plan to offer within a year and need to show compliance rapidly, shutters might make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I pay attention to hardware and accessories. Multi-point locks on sashes and awnings improve seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless housings glide smoother and last longer on sandy outdoor patios. Look at the sill design on sliding doors. Weep systems ought to be crafted to drain 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 fashion. Reflective movies can contravene of neighborhood watch or produce mirror-like glare towards neighboring homes. In coastal environments, highly reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Local pros know which finishings balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a big deal. Dark bronze or black frames look great on modern homes, however in Florida sun inexpensive finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coatings offer the very best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for seaside direct exposures whenever budgets allow.
Historic districts typically need profiles that imitate old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, but lead times lengthen and costs climb. Expect additional evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a specialist acquainted with these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations in some cases specify a narrow list of authorized products for harmony. They likewise care about sound control in between units. If your building sits directly on Collins thermal break aluminum frames Avenue or deals with a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated choices. Work 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, need special attention in design pressure, deflection, and operating hardware. Not every system that looks sturdy in a showroom fulfills the wind loads on a ninth-floor veranda. Do not depend on brochure maximum sizes. Use the NOA tables that correspond to your website's zone, favorable and negative pressures, and mullion mixes if any.
The finest jobs begin with a measured study and exposure analysis. You map each opening, note the substrate, and identify any framing irregularities or settlement fractures. Throughout proposal, the specialist reveals you the NOA and the Florida Item Approval, lists 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 remove one opening at a time to keep your house secure. They protect floors, draw back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames bring out care to protect interior finishes. 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 license file, especially if they will be concealed. After glazing, they water-test with a controlled spray to verify drainage courses and seals. The inspector sees a neat jobsite, clear labels, and documentation in order.
Six months later on, your windows still close with 2 fingers, locks bite smoothly, and there is no mystery rattle throughout thunderstorms. You did not have to require a roller adjustment after the very first week. That is the standard.
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Impact ranking does not equal breakproof. Laminated glass can break under severe impacts, however it needs to stay in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends out particles into the glass, you might see star fractures or spidering. The window did its job. Change the sash or IGU after the event.
Window films do not transform non-impact windows into cyclone impact-resistant windows. They can add shatter resistance, but they do not alternative to a checked, anchored system. Your insurance provider and building department will not count movies as protected openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient effect windows decrease air leakage. That's terrific, however it increases the importance of a correctly sized heating and cooling with great dehumidification. If your system is oversized, the thermostat pleases rapidly and fails to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your heating and cooling pro to inspect sensible heat ratio, air flow, and run time. You want constant, longer cycles, not brief bursts.
Maintenance is uncomplicated however not optional. Tidy weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lubricate hardware each year with a silicone-based product that will not gum up in heat. Small practices extend lifespan.
There are legitimate reasons to mix services. A pair of hardly ever utilized garage windows can keep removable panels to shave spending plan. A deep-set porch with very little sun direct exposure may do fine with accordion shutters if you prioritize other upgrades like a new roof deck accessory or a fortified garage door. Shutters can likewise safeguard outside kitchen areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age fancy hardware prematurely.
If you choose shutters, purchase quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with manual overrides for roll-downs make a distinction. Assign responsibility for deployment and practice as soon as outside of a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you require 32 wing nuts is not the early morning you wish to discover you have 29.
Impact windows are not only about surviving the huge one. They reshape daily living. The living room remains cooler and quieter. The a/c cycles calmly rather 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 shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and concentrate on individuals instead of panels.
For a number of my clients, that intangible is the choosing aspect. They know storms will come. They likewise understand 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 confidence when the spaghetti models point our method September.
If you are weighing the option, start with a site-specific assessment. Match your exposures to develop pressures, pick the right laminated glass stack for wind and heat, choose 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 ever requests for a ladder and a much better home every day of the year.