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 stock up, and the ritual of hauling ladders to install panels. After two decades defining, setting up, and troubleshooting structure envelopes from Secret Largo to Palm Beach, I have actually seen what holds up and what does not. When the objective is genuine protection with year-round convenience, Miami-Dade authorized, energy‑efficient effect windows outperform shutters in ways that go beyond storm day. They alter how a home feels in August, how peaceful your living room stays on a Saturday night, and how confident you are when a storm line spins up faster than predicted.
This is a useful take a look at why numerous South Florida house owners are moving from shutters to hurricane impact-resistant windows, how to check out the requirements behind "Miami-Dade authorized," what products matter, and how to get the installation right the first time.
Miami-Dade County's Product Control Division sets among the hardest benchmarks in the country for constructing best impact windows Boca Raton components exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker label. It is made through particular laboratory tests that imitate genuine cyclone conditions.
First comes large missile effect. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at the glass at approximately 34 miles per hour. That mimics roofing system tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the impact, the exact same unit faces cyclic pressure loading, countless pressurization and depressurization cycles that simulate quick wind gusts over hours. If the glass remains in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The difference in between "fulfills Florida building regulations windows" and "Miami-Dade approved windows" often lives in these test limits. Miami-Dade is simply stiffer, especially in High Velocity Typhoon Zone requirements, which include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind ratings vary by opening size and style pressures, signified as PSF worths. On ocean-facing residential or commercial properties or high-rises, I often specify units ranked at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more secured exposures, rankings in the +45/ -60 PSF range can be adequate, however you size and specification based upon the site's wind map, developing height, and surrounding structures. A professional knows that a corner exposure at the second story needs different support than a sheltered window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs effect windows is not a one-to-one comparison. Shutters can satisfy code, and they're much better than absolutely 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 place. You get constant protection, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on United States 1. You likewise get benefits every day of the year.
Noise control is the most underappreciated advantage. Laminated effect glass is basically a sandwich: two panes of glass bonded by a resilient interlayer, normally PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps noise. On tasks along busy passages like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight courses, I have actually measured interior noise drops in the 5 to 10 decibel range, often more when paired with insulated glass units.
Security improves because laminated glass resists required entry. A robber can shatter the external lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the shards. They satisfy a sticky, persistent membrane instead of a fast path inside. Insurance coverage underwriters understand this, which is why policies frequently provide credits for effect doors and windows. In my tasks, premiums normally drop 10 to 25 percent, depending on the carrier and how many openings are protected.
Energy performance is the 3rd pillar. Energy-efficient impact windows with modern low-E impact glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while protecting visible light. That implies less air conditioning demand, particularly on west and south direct exposures where the afternoon sun punishes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we replaced 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E effect systems. Summertime afternoon peak load dropped by roughly a lots of cooling, and the home's annual electricity usage fell between 12 and 18 percent. Results vary with shading, attic insulation, and HVAC effectiveness, but the instructions is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, but not all laminated items are equal.
Most residential cyclone windows utilize a PVB interlayer glass stack, frequently 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or numerous plies. Thicker interlayers improve 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, enabling thinner sections to achieve higher design pressures. For noise-sensitive websites, acoustic PVB solutions fine-tune the polymer to better absorb sound in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz range, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows come up typically in conversations because tempered glass is more powerful in flexing than annealed glass. That's true, and tempered lites are commonly utilized as the external 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 little cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening vulnerable. The effect performance originates from laminated building and construction, not tempering by itself. Numerous systems utilize a tempered outer 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 generally targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 variety while keeping noticeable light transmission around 50 percent or greater. Go too low on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, specifically in bigger openings. The sweet spot depends upon your exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I typically tighten SHGC and accept a minor tint to manage early morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I lean toward greater noticeable transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames dominate here due to the fact that they deal with large openings and will not swell. Thermal breaks and enhanced glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy space with vinyl. Premium vinyl impact frames, when enhanced properly, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have much better insulating worths, however I prevent them for very wide sliders or high storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look beautiful in older Mediterranean Revival homes, however they require careful upkeep and clever flashing. The Florida sun damages cheap vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum finishes rapidly. Look for powder-coated surfaces ranked for coastal direct exposure, and request written guarantee details in salt-air environments.
Window setup 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 core. Effect forces need to travel 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 and construction, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong product. Hollow cells should be grouted or you require 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 strong trimmers, not just sheathing. Shimming and plumb positioning matter so the locks engage easily and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not simply visual. An appropriately sized backer rod and high-quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant produce a long lasting, versatile seal that handles thermal expansion. Too small a bead and it tears under movement. Too huge and it treatments improperly. On seaside tasks, I never combine residential hurricane proof windows Boca Raton different metals without a barrier, and I always specify corrosion-resistant fasteners. 10 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 important. If you count on sealant alone, water will find its method. That wetness may not show up as a drip. It may rot a sill plate slowly, then betray itself as a buckling floor or a musty smell 2 hurricane seasons later.
I have nothing against properly designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are preserved and lubricated, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels stored carefully can protect homes successfully. They also assist in certain cases.
Second homes or seasonal leasings where spending plan is tight often lean on shutters to fulfill the Florida building code windows requirement for secured openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that commercial window installation Boca Raton is hardly ever used in summer season, a tidy motorized roll-down can be affordable, specifically if pairing with effect windows and doors somewhere else worries the budget. For homeowners who plan to move within a year, shutters can be a brief bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring trade-offs. They darken the house when released, and they need action at exactly the time you are juggling insurance documents, gas cans, and household logistics. Throughout Typhoon Irma, I enjoyed a next-door neighbor attempt 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 space. He endured with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters likewise rattle and can vibrate under continual winds, in some cases loosening fasteners with time if not maintained.

For long-lasting owners who wish to set it and forget it, effect windows offer hurricane proof windows protection while maintaining daytime and view. The benefit grows important once you've experienced one storm season with no prep beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes battle 2 battles: hidden load from humidity and reasonable load from direct solar heat gain. Effect glass upgrades can assist both if specified intelligently.
Low-E effect glass utilizes microscopically thin metal layers to show infrared energy while letting noticeable light through. With the right finishing stacks, you can obstruct a large portion of radiant heat and UV. Boca Raton commercial window installation UV clog in laminated systems comes largely from the interlayer itself, which generally filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, reducing fading of fabrics and floor covering. Include the low-E, and you curb the solar heat that drives your AC insane midafternoon.
I assess glass specs with 3 numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still helps here by reducing nighttime heat flow and keeping the interior glass temperature level closer to space temperature level, which decreases condensation danger. SHGC drives how much solar heat enters. VT affects how brilliant the interior feels. Balance is essential. Some house owners desire the crisp, clear look of greater VT, even if it implies accepting a few degrees more heat in late afternoon, due to the fact that their landscaping and roofing system overhangs already do some shading. Others choose a stronger tint for glare control on waterfront lots that show 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 half on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored exterior finishes, and an appropriately sized variable-speed HVAC, and you start to develop resilience. If the grid goes down and you switch 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 details the authorized configurations, sizes, anchors, and pressures tested. It is not enough to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" in a showroom. Confirm the NOA matches the exact model and choices you are buying, including the glazing makeup and hardware. If you are in Broward or Miami-Dade, your allowing office will desire this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Item Approval system provides FL numbers that show code compliance. In the remainder of the state outside the High Velocity Typhoon Zone, Florida building regulations windows can count on Florida Item Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Lots of top makers carry both. Where budgets allow, I choose NOA items even outside the zone because the testing is stiffer.
NFRC labels manage energy metrics. They won't tell you impact performance, however they reveal U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leak. Aim for air leak at or below 0.3 cfm/ft ². Tighter is much better for humidity control, but make certain your home still has 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. Installed expenses differ with size, shape, finish, and access. On uncomplicated single-family homes, per-opening expenses frequently land between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for basic sizes. Large multi-panel sliders, custom arches, and coastal-grade finishes raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recoup worth:
If you prepare to own the residential or commercial property for 5 years or more, the mathematics typically tilts in favor of effect windows, especially when you factor the intangible of assurance. If you prepare to offer within a year and need to show compliance quickly, shutters may make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I take notice 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 move smoother and last longer on sandy patios. Take a look at the sill design on sliding doors. Weep systems ought to be crafted to drain pipes heavy rains without letting wind-driven water blow back in. Ask to see a cutaway sample in the showroom.
Tint colors and reflectivity are more than style. Reflective films can run afoul of neighborhood associations or produce mirror-like glare toward surrounding homes. In seaside ecosystems, highly reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Local pros understand which finishes balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a huge deal. Dark bronze or black frames look wonderful on modern homes, but in Florida sun inexpensive surfaces chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated finishings supply the very best color retention and chalk resistance. I specify them for seaside exposures whenever spending plans allow.
Historic districts typically require profiles that simulate old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, but lead times extend and costs climb. Expect extra review by architectural boards, and line up a professional knowledgeable about these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations in some cases specify a narrow list of approved items for harmony. They likewise care about sound control between systems. If your building sits straight on Collins Avenue or deals with a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated options. Deal with structure management on staging and lift access. Weekend work windows and restricted parking can add days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, need special attention in style pressure, deflection, and running hardware. Not every system that looks strong in a display room meets the wind loads on a ninth-floor balcony. Do not rely on catalog optimum sizes. Utilize the NOA tables that represent your site's zone, positive and unfavorable pressures, and mullion combinations if any.
The finest tasks start with a measured study and direct exposure analysis. You map each opening, note the substrate, and determine any framing irregularities or settlement cracks. During proposal, the contractor reveals you the NOA and the Florida Item Approval, notes anchor types, and discusses how each opening will be flashed and sealed. They plan for stucco or drywall repairs, not pretend no damage will occur.
On set up day, they remove one opening at a time to keep the house safe and secure. They safeguard floors, 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 crew checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They picture anchors for the authorization file, specifically if they will be concealed. After glazing, they water-test with a regulated spray to confirm drain courses and seals. The inspector sees a neat jobsite, clear labels, and paperwork in order.
Six months later, your windows still close with 2 fingers, locks bite efficiently, and there is no secret rattle during thunderstorms. You did not have to require a roller change after the very first week. That is the standard.
Impact rating does not equal breakproof. Laminated glass can break under serious impacts, but it should stay in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends debris into the glass, you might see star cracks or spidering. The window did its task. Replace 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 an evaluated, anchored system. Your insurance provider and building department will not count movies as safeguarded openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient impact windows reduce air leak. That's excellent, however it increases the value of a properly sized heating and cooling with good dehumidification. If your system is large, the thermostat satisfies rapidly and fails to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your HVAC pro to examine sensible heat ratio, air flow, and run time. You desire constant, 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 item that will not gum up in heat. Small routines extend lifespan.
There are legitimate factors to mix solutions. A set of seldom used garage windows can keep removable panels to shave budget. A deep-set deck with minimal sun exposure might do fine with accordion shutters if you prioritize other upgrades like a new roof deck accessory or a prepared garage door. Shutters can likewise secure outdoor cooking areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age expensive hardware prematurely.
If you pick shutters, invest in quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with handbook bypasses for roll-downs make a difference. Assign duty for release and practice as soon as outside of a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you need 32 wing nuts is not the morning you want to find you have 29.
Impact windows are not only about surviving the big one. They reshape daily living. The living room remains cooler and quieter. The air conditioning cycles calmly instead of racing at 4 p.m. You sleep without freight trains of wind noise when a squall Boca Raton impact resistant windows line passes at 2 a.m. When a hurricane threatens, your preparation list gets shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and concentrate on people rather than panels.
For a number of my customers, that intangible is the deciding element. They understand storms will come. They also know life in South Florida is too good to live inside a fortress that only wakes up in August. Miami-Dade authorized windows offer you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February morning and peaceful self-confidence when the spaghetti models point our way in September.
If you are weighing the option, begin with a site-specific assessment. Match your exposures to design pressures, choose the best laminated glass stack for wind and heat, choose frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and hire a team that respects the load path. 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.