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 stockpile, and the ritual of carrying ladders to mount panels. After twenty years specifying, installing, and fixing structure envelopes from Key Largo to Palm Beach, I've seen what holds up and what doesn't. When the objective is real security with year-round comfort, Miami-Dade approved, energy‑efficient effect windows surpass shutters in ways that surpass storm day. They change how a home feels in August, how peaceful your living room remains on a Saturday night, and how confident you are when a storm line spins up much faster than predicted.
This is a practical take a look at why many South Florida homeowners are moving from shutters to typhoon impact-resistant windows, how to read 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 one of the toughest criteria in the nation for constructing elements exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is earned through specific lab tests that mimic genuine cyclone conditions.
First comes big rocket impact. A 9-pound 2x4 is contended the glass at roughly 34 miles per hour. That imitates roof tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the impact, the same unit faces cyclic pressure loading, countless pressurization and depressurization cycles that simulate 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 code windows" and "Miami-Dade authorized windows" typically resides in these test thresholds. Miami-Dade is simply stiffer, particularly in High Speed Hurricane Zone requirements, that include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind ratings vary by opening size and style pressures, represented as PSF values. On ocean-facing homes or high-rises, I typically specify units rated at +60/ -80 PSF or greater. Inland or in more safeguarded direct exposures, scores in the +45/ -60 PSF range can suffice, but you size and spec based on the website's wind map, constructing height, and surrounding structures. A professional understands that a corner exposure at the second story needs different support than a sheltered window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs impact windows is not a one-to-one contrast. Shutters can satisfy code, and they're much better than absolutely nothing. But they ask you to do operate at the worst possible time. When a watch turns to a warning and the projection track tightens up, the last thing you want 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 United States 1. You also 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 durable interlayer, usually PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps sound. On jobs along busy corridors like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight paths, I have actually measured interior noise drops in the 5 to 10 decibel range, often more when paired with insulated glass units.
Security improves due to the fact that laminated glass resists forced entry. A robber can shatter the external lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the shards. They fulfill 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 typically drop 10 to 25 percent, depending on the carrier and the number of openings are protected.
Energy performance is the third 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 suggests less air conditioning demand, especially on west and south direct exposures where the afternoon sun penalizes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we replaced 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E impact units. Summertime afternoon peak load dropped by roughly a ton of cooling, and the home's yearly electrical energy usage fell in between 12 and 18 percent. Outcomes differ with shading, attic insulation, and a/c effectiveness, however the direction is consistent.
Laminated impact glass is the heart of the system, but not all laminated items are equal.
Most domestic typhoon windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, typically 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or multiple plies. Thicker interlayers enhance effect resistance and sound control, however they include weight and cost. For oceanfront or high openings, you might see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and more powerful than PVB, allowing thinner areas to accomplish greater design pressures. For noise-sensitive websites, acoustic PVB solutions tweak the polymer to much better soak up sound in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz range, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows show up often in conversations since tempered glass is more powerful in bending than annealed glass. That's true, and tempered lites are frequently used as the outer or inner ply in an impact unit. But tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the typhoon sense. When it stops working, it explodes into small cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening susceptible. The effect performance originates from laminated building, not tempering by itself. Lots of systems use a tempered outer lite laminated to a hardened inner lite, or both tempered, but constantly bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E finishes matter for comfort. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida usually targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 range while keeping visible light transmission around half 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 minor tint to manage morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I favor higher visible transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames control here because they manage large openings and won't swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy gap with vinyl. High-quality vinyl effect frames, when enhanced correctly, can perform well for standard-sized openings and have much better insulating values, but I prevent them for really broad sliders or high storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look stunning in older Mediterranean Revival homes, however they require careful upkeep and smart flashing. The Florida sun damages low-cost vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum surfaces rapidly. Try to find powder-coated surfaces ranked for coastal exposure, and demand written warranty details in salt-air environments.
Window setup can make or break efficiency. A costly unit installed like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's stress test. The load path is the essence. Impact forces need to take a trip from the glass through the frame, to the anchors, into the substrate, and then into the structure's framing or masonry.
In concrete block building and construction, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong product. Hollow cells must be grouted or you need to hit the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to happen. In wood-framed homes, structural screws need to bite into solid 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. A properly sized backer rod and high-quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant produce a durable, versatile seal that manages thermal expansion. Too little a bead and it tears under motion. Too huge and it cures badly. On coastal tasks, I never ever pair different metals without a barrier, and I always 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 wetness may not show up as a drip. It may rot a sill plate slowly, then betray itself as a buckling floor or a moldy odor 2 typhoon seasons later.
I have nothing versus properly designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are kept and lubed, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels saved thoroughly can secure homes effectively. They also assist in specific cases.
Second homes or seasonal leasings where budget plan is tight sometimes lean on shutters to satisfy the Florida building regulations windows requirement for safeguarded openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is rarely utilized in summertime, a tidy motorized roll-down can be affordable, especially if coupling with effect doors and windows elsewhere worries the spending 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 released, and they need action at exactly the time you are managing insurance coverage papers, tempered glass skylight gas cans, and family logistics. During Typhoon Irma, I watched 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 made it through with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters likewise rattle and can vibrate under continual winds, sometimes loosening fasteners with time if not maintained.
For long-term owners who want to set it and forget it, effect windows give typhoon proof windows protection while protecting daytime and view. The benefit grows valuable once you have actually experienced one storm season with no preparation beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes combat two battles: latent load from humidity and sensible load from direct solar heat gain. Impact glass upgrades can help both if defined intelligently.

Low-E impact glass utilizes microscopically thin metallic layers to reflect infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the ideal covering stacks, you can block a large part of convected heat and UV. UV blockage in laminated systems comes mainly from the interlayer itself, which typically filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, reducing fading of fabrics and flooring. Include the low-E, and you curb the solar heat that drives your a/c insane midafternoon.
I examine glass specifications with three numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still helps here by minimizing nighttime heat flow and keeping the interior glass temperature closer to room temperature, which reduces condensation risk. SHGC drives how much solar heat enters. VT influences how brilliant the interior feels. Balance is crucial. Some homeowners desire the crisp, clear appearance of higher VT, even if it indicates accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, since their landscaping and roofing overhangs already do some shading. Others prefer a stronger tint for glare control on waterside lots that show harsh light.
In practical terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to contemporary low-E laminated double-glazed units can lower peak solar gains by 30 to 50 percent on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored exterior finishes, and an effectively sized variable-speed a/c, and you start to build strength. If the grid decreases and you switch to a generator, a lower cooling load suggests a smaller sized generator and less gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notification of Acceptance, or NOA, is the document you ask for. It information the authorized setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures tested. It is insufficient to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" in a showroom. Confirm the NOA matches the specific design and alternatives you are buying, including the glazing makeup and hardware. If you are in Broward or Miami-Dade, your permitting office will want this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Product Approval system provides FL numbers that reveal code compliance. In the remainder of the state outside the High Speed Hurricane Zone, Florida building code windows can rely on Florida Item Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Lots of leading producers bring both. Where spending plans enable, I prefer NOA items even outside the zone due to the fact that 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 leak. Go for air leakage at or listed below 0.3 cfm/ft TWO. Tighter is better for humidity control, however make certain your home still has balanced ventilation. Sealing the envelope and overlooking 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, finish, and gain access to. On uncomplicated single-family homes, per-opening expenses frequently land in between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for standard sizes. Big multi-panel sliders, custom-made arches, and coastal-grade finishes raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recoup value:
If you plan to own the property for 5 years or more, the math often tilts in favor of impact windows, especially when you factor the intangible of assurance. If you prepare to sell within a year and need to show compliance quickly, 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 glide smoother and last longer on sandy patio areas. Take a look at the sill design 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 watch or produce mirror-like glare toward surrounding homes. In seaside communities, extremely reflective glass can puzzle birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Regional pros understand which finishes balance efficiency with compliance.
Color stability is a big offer. Dark bronze or black frames look wonderful on contemporary homes, however in Florida sun cheap finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated finishings provide the best color retention and chalk resistance. I specify them for coastal exposures whenever budgets allow.
Historic districts often need profiles that mimic old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, but lead times extend and costs climb. Anticipate extra evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a specialist familiar with these submissions.
Condos have casement and double-hung windows another layer of governance. Associations in some cases define a narrow list of authorized items for uniformity. They likewise appreciate sound control in between units. If your building sits straight on Collins Opportunity or faces a hectic beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated choices. 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 design pressure, deflection, and running hardware. Not every unit that looks strong in a display room satisfies the wind loads on a ninth-floor balcony. Do not rely on catalog maximum sizes. Use the NOA tables that correspond to your website's zone, positive and unfavorable pressures, and mullion combinations if any.
The finest projects begin with a measured survey and direct exposure analysis. You map each opening, keep in mind the substrate, and determine any framing irregularities or settlement fractures. During proposition, the professional reveals 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 set up day, they eliminate one opening at a time to keep your home secure. They protect floorings, pull back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames come out with care to protect interior surfaces. New units get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The team checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photo anchors for the authorization file, especially if they will be concealed. After glazing, they water-test with a regulated spray to confirm drainage courses and seals. The inspector sees a neat jobsite, clear labels, and paperwork in order.
Six months later, your windows still close with two fingers, locks bite efficiently, and there is no mystery rattle throughout thunderstorms. You did not need to require a roller change after the first week. That is the standard.
Impact ranking does not equal breakproof. Laminated glass can split under serious effects, however it ought to stay in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends out debris into the glass, you might coastal home window protection see star cracks or spidering. The window did its task. Change the sash or IGU after the event.
Window films do not convert non-impact windows into hurricane impact-resistant windows. They can add shatter resistance, however they do not substitute for a checked, anchored system. Your insurance company and building department will not count movies as protected openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient impact windows reduce air leakage. That's fantastic, however it increases the importance of a properly sized HVAC with good dehumidification. If your system is oversized, the thermostat pleases quickly and fails to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your HVAC pro to inspect practical heat ratio, air flow, and run time. You want consistent, longer cycles, not short bursts.
Maintenance is straightforward however not optional. Clean weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and oil hardware annually with a silicone-based item that will not gum up in heat. Small practices extend lifespan.
There are genuine factors to mix options. A set of hardly ever utilized garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave budget. A deep-set porch with very little sun direct exposure may do great with accordion shutters if you focus on other upgrades like a brand-new roof deck accessory or a prepared garage door. Shutters can also safeguard outdoor kitchen areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age elegant hardware prematurely.
If you choose shutters, buy quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with manual overrides for roll-downs make a distinction. Designate duty for implementation and practice as soon as beyond a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you require 32 wing nuts is not the morning you wish to find you have 29.
Impact windows are not just about enduring the big 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 noise when a squall line passes at 2 a.m. When a typhoon threatens, your preparation list gets much shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and focus on people instead of panels.
For a lot of my clients, that intangible is the deciding element. They know storms will come. They also understand life in South Florida is too good to live inside a fortress that just wakes up in August. Miami-Dade authorized windows give you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February early morning and peaceful self-confidence when the spaghetti models point our way in September.
If you are weighing the choice, begin with a site-specific evaluation. Match your exposures to develop pressures, select the ideal laminated glass stack for wind and heat, select frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and employ a team that respects the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient impact windows deliver what shutters can not: security that never ever requests a ladder and a better home every day of the year.