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 neighbors track tropical waves, the pre-storm rush to stock up, and the routine of transporting ladders to install panels. After two decades specifying, setting up, and repairing building envelopes from Secret Largo to Palm Beach, I have actually seen what holds up and what does not. When the goal is genuine protection with year-round comfort, Miami-Dade approved, energy‑efficient impact windows outshine shutters in manner ins which go beyond 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 faster than predicted.
This is a useful take a look at why many South Florida property owners are moving from shutters to typhoon impact-resistant windows, how to check out the standards behind "Miami-Dade approved," what materials matter, and how to get the installation right the first time.
Miami-Dade County's Product Control Department sets among the toughest benchmarks in the nation for developing parts exposed to windborne particles. Approval is not a marketing sticker label. It is made through particular laboratory tests that imitate real typhoon conditions.
First comes large rocket impact. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at the glass at roughly 34 miles per hour. That simulates roof tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the impact, the exact same unit deals with 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" typically lives in these test thresholds. Miami-Dade is just stiffer, especially in High Velocity Cyclone Zone requirements, that include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind rankings vary by opening size and design pressures, signified as PSF worths. On ocean-facing homes or high-rises, I typically specify units rated at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more secured direct exposures, scores in the +45/ -60 PSF range can suffice, but you size and spec based upon the website's wind map, building height, and surrounding structures. An expert understands that a corner direct exposure at the second story demands different reinforcement than a protected window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs effect windows is not a one-to-one comparison. Shutters can meet code, and they're much better than nothing. However they ask you to do work at the worst possible time. When a watch turns to a caution and the forecast track tightens, the last thing you want is a ladder, a dead cordless drill, and a missing wing nut.
Impact windows reside in place. You get continuous protection, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on US 1. You likewise get advantages every day of the year.
Noise control is the most underappreciated benefit. Laminated effect glass is essentially a sandwich: 2 panes of glass bonded by a resistant interlayer, typically PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps noise. On tasks along hectic corridors like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight courses, I've measured interior noise drops in the 5 to 10 decibel variety, in some cases more when coupled with insulated glass units.
Security improves since laminated glass resists required entry. An intruder can shatter the external lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the shards. They meet a sticky, persistent membrane rather of a fast path inside. Insurance underwriters understand this, which is why policies typically use credits for effect doors and windows. In my tasks, premiums normally 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 protecting visible light. That implies less air conditioning demand, particularly on west and south exposures where the afternoon sun punishes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we replaced 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E impact units. Summer season afternoon peak load come by roughly a lots of cooling, and the home's annual electrical power use fell between 12 and 18 percent. Results vary with shading, attic insulation, and a/c effectiveness, but the direction is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, however not all laminated products are equal.
Most residential typhoon windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, commonly 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or numerous plies. Thicker interlayers enhance effect resistance and sound control, but they include weight and expense. For oceanfront or tall openings, you might see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, allowing thinner areas to attain higher design pressures. For noise-sensitive sites, acoustic PVB formulas modify 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 turn up frequently 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. But tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the cyclone sense. When it stops working, it blows up into small cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening vulnerable. The effect efficiency originates from laminated building and construction, not tempering by itself. Lots of systems use a tempered external lite laminated to a hardened inner lite, or both tempered, but always bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E coverings matter for convenience. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida usually targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 variety while keeping visible light transmission around half or higher. Go too low on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, especially in bigger openings. The sweet area depends on your façade orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I typically tighten SHGC and accept a minor 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 due to the fact that they manage large openings and will not swell. Thermal breaks and enhanced glazing gaskets have actually narrowed the energy gap with vinyl. Premium vinyl impact frames, when strengthened effectively, can perform well for standard-sized openings and have better insulating values, but I avoid them for extremely large sliders or tall storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look beautiful in older Mediterranean Revival homes, but they demand careful upkeep and clever flashing. The Florida sun damages low-cost vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum surfaces quickly. Search for powder-coated finishes rated for seaside direct exposure, and demand written guarantee information in salt-air environments.
Window installation can make or break efficiency. A costly system set up like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's tension test. The load path is the essence. Impact forces need to travel from the glass through the frame, to the anchors, into the substrate, and then into the structure's framing or masonry.
In cinder block building and construction, you desire stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong material. Hollow cells must be impact glass 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 just sheathing. Shimming and plumb alignment matter so the locks engage cleanly and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not just aesthetic. An effectively sized backer rod and premium polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant develop a long lasting, versatile seal that handles thermal expansion. Too little a bead and it tears under motion. Too big and it cures poorly. On coastal tasks, I never ever pair dissimilar metals without a barrier, and I always define 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 depend on sealant alone, water will find its method. That moisture might not show up as a drip. It might rot a sill plate slowly, then betray itself as a buckling floor or a musty smell 2 typhoon seasons later.
I have absolutely nothing versus properly designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are kept and lubed, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels saved carefully can secure homes successfully. They also help in certain cases.
Second homes or seasonal leasings where budget is tight sometimes lean on shutters to fulfill the Florida building code windows requirement for safeguarded openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is seldom utilized in summer, a clean motorized roll-down can be reasonable, specifically if pairing with impact windows and doors somewhere else worries the budget. For homeowners who plan to move within a year, shutters can be a short bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring compromises. They darken your house when released, and they need action at exactly the time you are juggling insurance papers, gas cans, and household logistics. Throughout Hurricane Irma, I viewed a neighbor try to install steel panels hours before landfall. The ladder sank in saturated soil, a panel slipped, Soundproof impact windows and we invested the next hour in the immediate care waiting room. He survived with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters likewise rattle and can vibrate under sustained winds, in some cases loosening up fasteners with time if not maintained.
For long-term owners who want to set it and forget it, effect windows offer typhoon evidence windows protection while protecting daylight 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 fights: latent load from humidity and sensible load from direct solar heat gain. Impact glass upgrades can assist both if specified intelligently.
Low-E impact glass utilizes microscopically thin metal layers to reflect infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the best coating stacks, you can block a large part of convected heat and UV. UV clog in laminated units comes largely from the interlayer itself, which typically filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, lowering fading of materials and floor covering. Add the low-E, and you suppress the solar heat that drives your air conditioning crazy midafternoon.
I assess glass specifications with three numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still assists here by reducing nighttime heat flow and keeping the interior glass temperature closer to space temperature, which decreases condensation danger. SHGC drives just how much solar heat goes into. VT affects how brilliant the interior feels. Balance is crucial. Some property owners want the crisp, clear appearance of higher VT, even if it suggests accepting a few degrees more heat in late afternoon, because their landscaping and roof overhangs already do some shading. Others choose a more powerful tint for glare control on waterfront lots that show extreme light.
In practical terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to modern-day low-E laminated double-glazed units can decrease peak solar gains by 30 to 50 percent on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored exterior surfaces, and a correctly sized variable-speed heating and cooling, and you begin to construct resilience. If the grid goes down and you switch to a generator, a lower cooling load indicates a smaller sized generator and less gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notification of Approval, or NOA, is the file you request. It details the approved setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures tested. It is not enough to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" in a display room. Verify the NOA matches the specific design and choices you are buying, including the glazing makeup and hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your permitting workplace will want this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Product Approval system supplies FL numbers that show code compliance. In the rest of the state outside the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, Florida building code windows can depend on Florida Product Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Lots of leading makers bring both. Where spending plans enable, I prefer NOA items even outside the zone due to the fact that the screening is stiffer.
NFRC labels handle energy metrics. They won't tell you impact efficiency, however they reveal U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leak. Go for air leakage at or listed below 0.3 cfm/ft TWO. Tighter is much better for humidity control, but make sure 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. Set up expenses vary with size, shape, finish, and gain access to. On simple single-family homes, per-opening expenses typically land in between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for standard sizes. Large multi-panel sliders, customized arches, and coastal-grade finishes raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recoup value:
If you plan to own the residential or commercial property for 5 years or more, the mathematics frequently tilts in favor of effect windows, particularly when you factor the intangible of assurance. If you prepare to offer within a year and require to show compliance rapidly, shutters may make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I take note of hardware and accessories. Multi-point locks on sashes and awnings improve seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless housings move smoother and last longer on sandy patio areas. Take a look at the sill design on sliding doors. Weep systems must 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 ecosystems, extremely reflective glass can confuse birds or sea Windborne debris protection turtles in some jurisdictions. Regional pros know which coverings balance efficiency with compliance.
Color stability is a big deal. Dark bronze or black frames look fantastic on contemporary homes, however in Florida sun inexpensive finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coatings supply the best color retention and chalk resistance. I specify them for seaside exposures whenever spending plans allow.
Historic districts frequently need profiles that mimic old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, but lead times extend and costs climb. Expect additional evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a contractor acquainted with these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations often define a narrow list of authorized items for harmony. They also care about noise control between units. If your building sits straight on Collins Opportunity or deals with a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated choices. Deal with building management on staging and lift gain access to. Weekend work windows and restricted parking can add days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, require unique attention in style pressure, deflection, and operating hardware. Not every system that looks durable in a display room fulfills the wind loads on a ninth-floor balcony. Do not depend on catalog maximum sizes. Use the NOA tables that represent your website's zone, positive and negative pressures, and mullion mixes if any.
The finest jobs begin with a determined study and direct exposure analysis. You map each opening, keep in mind the substrate, and identify any framing irregularities or settlement fractures. Throughout proposal, the professional reveals you the NOA and the Florida Item Approval, notes anchor types, and describes how each opening will be flashed and sealed. They plan for stucco or drywall repair work, not pretend no damage will occur.
On install day, they remove one opening at a time to keep your home secure. They secure floorings, pull back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames come out with care to maintain interior finishes. New systems get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The crew checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photograph anchors for the permit file, particularly if they will be hidden. After glazing, they water-test with a controlled spray to validate drainage paths and seals. The inspector sees a neat jobsite, clear labels, and documentation in order.
Six months later on, your windows still close with two fingers, locks bite efficiently, and there is no mystery rattle throughout thunderstorms. You did not have to call for a roller change after the very first week. That is the standard.
Impact score does not equal breakproof. Laminated glass can crack under extreme impacts, however it ought to stay in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends out particles into the glass, you may see star cracks or spidering. The window did its job. Change the sash or IGU after the event.
Window movies do not convert non-impact windows into hurricane impact-resistant windows. They can add shatter resistance, but they do not substitute for a checked, anchored system. Your insurer and building department will not count movies as secured openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient impact windows decrease air leakage. That's great, however it increases the significance of an appropriately sized a/c with great dehumidification. If your system is extra-large, the thermostat pleases quickly and stops working to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your HVAC pro to inspect practical heat ratio, air flow, and run time. You want stable, longer cycles, not short bursts.
Maintenance is uncomplicated but not optional. Clean 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 practices extend lifespan.
There are legitimate factors to mix services. A set of rarely utilized garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave budget plan. A deep-set porch with minimal sun exposure may do great with accordion shutters if you focus on other upgrades like a new roofing system deck accessory or a prepared garage door. Shutters can likewise safeguard outdoor kitchen 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 manual bypasses for roll-downs make a distinction. Designate obligation for deployment and practice when outside of a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you need 32 wing nuts is not the morning you wish to find you have 29.
Impact windows are not only about enduring the huge one. They reshape daily living. The living room remains cooler and quieter. The AC cycles calmly rather 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 hurricane threatens, your preparation list gets shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and focus on people instead of panels.
For many of my customers, that intangible is the deciding element. They understand storms will come. They likewise know life in South Florida is too good to live inside a fortress that just awakens in August. Miami-Dade authorized windows give you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February morning and peaceful confidence when the spaghetti models point our method September.
If you are weighing the option, begin with a site-specific evaluation. Match your direct exposures to design pressures, choose the best laminated glass stack for wind and heat, choose frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and work with a team that respects the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient impact windows deliver what shutters can not: security that never ever requests for a ladder and a better home every day of the year.