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 stock up, and the routine of hauling ladders to install panels. After 20 years defining, setting up, and repairing structure envelopes from Secret Largo to Palm Beach, I have actually seen what holds up and what does not. When the goal is real security with year-round convenience, Miami-Dade authorized, 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 remains on a Saturday night, and how positive you are when a storm line spins up faster than predicted.
This is a practical look at why numerous South Florida homeowners are moving from shutters to hurricane impact-resistant windows, how to check out the standards behind "Miami-Dade authorized," what products matter, and how to get the installation right the first time.
Miami-Dade County's Item Control Department sets among the toughest criteria in the country for developing components exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker label. It is earned through specific lab tests that simulate real hurricane conditions.
First comes big missile impact. A 9-pound 2x4 is contended the glass at approximately 34 miles per hour. That simulates roofing 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 fast wind gusts over hours. If the glass remains in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The distinction between "fulfills Florida building regulations windows" and "Miami-Dade approved windows" typically lives in these test limits. Miami-Dade is simply stiffer, particularly in High Speed Typhoon Zone requirements, which 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 frequently specify units ranked at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more protected exposures, scores in the +45/ -60 PSF range can be sufficient, but you size and specification based upon the website's wind map, developing height, and surrounding structures. A professional knows that a corner exposure at the second story needs different reinforcement than a sheltered window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs impact windows is not a one-to-one contrast. Shutters can fulfill code, and they're better than absolutely nothing. However they ask you to do operate at the worst possible time. When a watch turns to a warning 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 location. You get continuous security, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on US 1. You likewise get benefits every day of the year.
Noise control is the most underappreciated benefit. Laminated effect glass is essentially a sandwich: two panes of glass bonded by a resistant interlayer, normally PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps noise. On tasks along hectic passages like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight paths, I have actually determined interior sound drops in the 5 to 10 decibel range, sometimes more when paired with insulated glass units.
Security enhances due to the fact that laminated glass withstands forced entry. A robber can shatter the outer lite with a hammer, however the interlayer holds the fragments. They meet a sticky, persistent membrane instead of a fast course inside. Insurance coverage underwriters understand this, which is why policies often use credits for effect doors and windows. In my jobs, premiums typically 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 contemporary low-E impact glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while preserving noticeable light. That suggests less air conditioning need, specifically 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 effect units. Summer season afternoon peak load stopped by roughly a ton of cooling, and the home's annual electrical energy use fell between 12 and 18 percent. Results differ with shading, attic insulation, and a/c performance, however the instructions is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, however not all laminated products are equal.
Most property typhoon windows utilize 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, but they add weight and expense. For oceanfront or tall openings, you might see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and more powerful than PVB, enabling thinner areas to achieve higher style pressures. For noise-sensitive sites, acoustic PVB formulations tweak the polymer to much better soak up noise in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz variety, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows come up typically in conversations because tempered glass is stronger in bending than annealed glass. That holds true, and tempered lites are typically used as the external or inner ply in an impact system. However tempered alone is not impact-resistant in impact windows installation Boca Raton the cyclone sense. When it stops working, it explodes into little cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening susceptible. The effect efficiency comes from laminated construction, not tempering by itself. Lots of systems utilize a tempered external lite laminated to an annealed inner lite, or both tempered, but constantly bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E finishes matter for convenience. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida typically targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 variety while keeping visible light transmission around 50 percent or higher. Go too short on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, particularly in bigger openings. The sweet area depends on your façade orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I frequently tighten SHGC and accept a slight tint to manage morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I lean toward greater visible transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames dominate here due to the fact that they manage big openings and will not swell. Thermal breaks and enhanced glazing gaskets have actually narrowed the energy gap with vinyl. Top quality vinyl impact frames, when strengthened effectively, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have much better insulating worths, however I prevent them for really wide sliders or tall storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look stunning in older Mediterranean Revival homes, but they demand mindful upkeep and wise flashing. The Florida sun ruins inexpensive vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum finishes quickly. Look for powder-coated surfaces rated for seaside direct exposure, and demand written warranty details in salt-air environments.
Window installation can make or break performance. A pricey system set up like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's tension test. The load path is the essence. Effect 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 cinder block building, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong material. Hollow cells should be grouted or you need to hit the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to take place. In wood-framed houses, structural screws should 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 aesthetic. An effectively sized backer rod and top quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant create a durable, flexible seal that deals with thermal growth. Too small a bead and it tears under movement. Too big and it cures inadequately. On seaside tasks, I never match dissimilar metals without a barrier, and I constantly 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 vital. If you depend on sealant alone, water will find its method. That wetness may not show up as a drip. It may rot a sill plate gradually, then betray itself as a buckling floor or a musty odor two hurricane seasons later.
I have nothing versus well-designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are maintained and lubricated, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels saved carefully can safeguard homes successfully. They also assist in specific cases.
Second homes or seasonal rentals where spending plan is tight often lean on shutters to satisfy the Florida building code windows requirement for secured openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is hardly ever used in summer season, a tidy motorized roll-down can be affordable, specifically if coupling with effect windows and doors elsewhere stresses the budget. For house owners who prepare to move within a year, shutters can be a brief bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring compromises. They darken your house when deployed, and they require action at precisely the time you are juggling insurance documents, gas cans, and household logistics. Throughout Cyclone 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 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 over time if not maintained.
For long-term owners who wish to set it and forget it, impact windows provide cyclone evidence windows coverage while maintaining daylight and view. The benefit grows valuable once you've experienced one storm season with no prep beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes battle two fights: latent window installation services load from humidity and reasonable load from direct solar heat gain. Effect glass upgrades can assist both if specified intelligently.
Low-E impact glass utilizes microscopically thin metal layers to show infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the ideal finish stacks, you can block a big portion of convected heat and UV. UV obstruction in laminated systems comes mainly from the interlayer itself, which usually filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, decreasing fading of fabrics and flooring. Add the low-E, and you suppress the solar heat that drives your air conditioning crazy midafternoon.
I assess glass specifications with 3 numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still helps here by lowering nighttime heat circulation and keeping the interior glass temperature closer to space temperature level, which reduces condensation threat. SHGC drives just how much solar heat goes into. VT affects how bright the interior feels. Balance is key. Some property owners desire the crisp, clear appearance of greater VT, even if it implies accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, due to the fact that their landscaping and roof overhangs currently do some shading. Others choose a more powerful tint for glare control on waterfront lots that reflect extreme light.
In practical 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 surfaces, and a properly sized variable-speed heating and cooling, and you start to build strength. If the grid decreases and you change to a generator, a lower cooling load indicates a smaller generator and fewer gallons of fuel.

Miami-Dade Notice of Approval, or NOA, is the document you ask for. It information the authorized setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures checked. It is inadequate to hear "these are Miami-Dade approved windows" in a showroom. Confirm the NOA matches the precise model and alternatives you are purchasing, consisting of the glazing makeup and hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your allowing workplace will want this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Product Approval system offers FL numbers that show code compliance. In the remainder of the state outside the High Velocity Typhoon Zone, Florida building code windows can rely window installation costs Boca Raton on Florida Product Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Lots of leading producers carry both. Where budget plans permit, I prefer NOA items even outside the zone since the screening is stiffer.
NFRC labels manage energy metrics. They won't inform you impact efficiency, but they show U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leakage. Aim for air leak at or listed below 0.3 cfm/ft TWO. 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 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 gain access to. On uncomplicated single-family homes, per-opening costs frequently land 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 recover worth:
If you prepare to own the residential or commercial property for five years or more, the mathematics often tilts in favor of effect windows, especially when you factor the intangible of peace of mind. If you prepare to offer within a year and require 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 improve seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless housings move smoother and last longer on sandy patio areas. 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 films can run afoul of neighborhood watch or produce mirror-like glare towards surrounding residential or commercial properties. In coastal ecosystems, extremely reflective glass can puzzle birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Local pros know which coverings balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a big offer. Dark bronze or black frames look wonderful on modern homes, but in Florida sun cheap finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coatings provide the best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for seaside exposures whenever spending plans allow.
Historic districts frequently require profiles that simulate old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, however lead times lengthen and costs climb. Anticipate additional review 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 approved products for harmony. They also appreciate noise control between units. If your building sits straight on Collins Avenue or faces a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated choices. Deal with building management on staging and lift access. Weekend work windows and minimal parking can include 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 sturdy in a display room meets the wind loads on a ninth-floor terrace. Do not count on brochure maximum sizes. Utilize the NOA tables that correspond to your website's zone, positive and negative pressures, and mullion combinations if any.
The finest tasks start with a determined survey and direct exposure analysis. You map each opening, keep in mind the substrate, and identify any framing abnormalities or settlement fractures. Throughout proposal, the professional reveals you the NOA and the Florida Product Approval, lists 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 get rid of one opening at a time to keep your house safe and secure. They protect floorings, pull back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames come out with care to maintain interior surfaces. New units get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The team checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photograph anchors for the authorization file, particularly if they will be hidden. After glazing, they water-test with a controlled spray to confirm drainage courses and seals. The inspector sees a cool jobsite, clear labels, and documents in order.
Six months later on, your windows still close with 2 fingers, locks bite efficiently, and there is no secret rattle throughout thunderstorms. You did not have to call for a roller change after the very first week. That is the standard.
Impact ranking does not equivalent breakproof. Laminated glass can split under extreme effects, however it must stay in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends particles into the glass, you might see star cracks or spidering. The window did its task. 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 an evaluated, anchored system. Your insurance provider and structure department will not count films as secured openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient impact windows decrease air leakage. That's excellent, but it increases the importance of an appropriately sized a/c with great dehumidification. If your system is oversized, the thermostat satisfies rapidly and stops working to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your a/c pro to check practical heat ratio, air flow, and run time. You want steady, longer cycles, not short bursts.
Maintenance is simple however not optional. Tidy weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lube hardware every year with a silicone-based item that will not gum up in heat. Small habits extend lifespan.
There are legitimate reasons to mix services. A pair of hardly ever utilized garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave spending plan. A deep-set deck with very little sun exposure may do fine with accordion shutters if you prioritize other upgrades like a brand-new roof deck attachment or a fortified garage door. Shutters can also secure outside kitchens or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age fancy hardware prematurely.
If you pick shutters, buy quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with handbook overrides for roll-downs make a distinction. Appoint obligation for implementation and practice as soon as beyond 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 just about making it through the big one. They reshape daily living. The living-room stays cooler and quieter. The air conditioner 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 cyclone threatens, your preparation list gets shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and focus on individuals rather than panels.
For many of my clients, that intangible is the deciding aspect. They know storms will come. They likewise understand life in South Florida is too great 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 quiet self-confidence when the spaghetti designs point our method September.
If you are weighing the option, begin with a site-specific assessment. Match your direct exposures to develop pressures, choose the right laminated glass stack for wind and heat, choose frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and work with a crew that appreciates the load course. Done right, energy‑efficient impact windows deliver what shutters can not: protection that never ever requests a ladder and a much better home every day of the year.