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 neighbors track tropical waves, the pre-storm rush to stockpile, and the routine of hauling ladders to mount panels. After two decades defining, setting up, and troubleshooting building envelopes from Key Largo to Palm Beach, I've seen what holds up and what doesn't. When the goal is genuine protection with year-round convenience, Miami-Dade approved, energy‑efficient effect windows outshine shutters in ways that exceed storm day. They change how a home feels in August, how quiet your living room stays on a Saturday night, and how positive you are when a storm line spins up faster than predicted.
This is a useful look at why many South Florida house owners are moving from shutters to cyclone impact-resistant windows, how to check out the standards behind "Miami-Dade approved," what products matter, and how to get the setup right the first time.
Miami-Dade County's Product Control Division sets among the most difficult criteria in the country for developing parts exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is earned through particular lab tests that simulate genuine typhoon conditions.
First comes big missile impact. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at the glass at roughly 34 miles per hour. That imitates roof tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the effect, the very same system deals with window installation costs Boca Raton cyclic pressure loading, thousands of pressurization and depressurization cycles that imitate fast wind gusts over hours. If the glass remains in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The distinction in between "satisfies Florida building regulations windows" and "Miami-Dade authorized windows" frequently resides in these test thresholds. Miami-Dade is merely stiffer, especially in High Speed Typhoon Zone requirements, which include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind ratings vary by opening size and style pressures, denoted as PSF values. On ocean-facing residential or commercial properties or high-rises, I typically specify systems rated at +60/ -80 PSF or greater. Inland or in more secured exposures, ratings in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can suffice, but you size and spec based on the site's wind map, constructing height, and surrounding structures. An expert knows that a corner direct exposure at the 2nd 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 fulfill code, and they're better than nothing. But they ask you to do work at the worst possible time. When a watch turns to a warning and the forecast track tightens up, the last thing you desire 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 United States 1. You also get advantages every day of the year.
Noise control is the most underappreciated benefit. Laminated effect glass is basically a sandwich: 2 panes of glass bonded by a durable interlayer, generally PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps noise. On jobs along busy corridors like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight paths, I've measured interior noise drops in the 5 to 10 decibel range, sometimes more when coupled with insulated glass units.

Security enhances because laminated glass resists forced entry. A burglar can shatter the outer lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the shards. They meet a sticky, persistent membrane instead of a fast path inside. Insurance coverage underwriters understand this, which is why policies typically use credits for impact doors and windows. In my projects, premiums usually drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the carrier and the number of openings are protected.
Energy performance is the third pillar. Energy-efficient effect windows with modern-day low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while protecting visible light. That suggests less cooling demand, particularly on west and south 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 come by approximately a lots of cooling, and the home's annual electrical energy usage fell in between 12 and 18 percent. Results vary with shading, attic insulation, and heating and cooling efficiency, but the direction is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, but not all laminated items are equal.
Most property hurricane windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, frequently 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or several plies. Thicker interlayers enhance effect resistance and sound control, but 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 areas to attain greater style pressures. For noise-sensitive sites, acoustic PVB formulas modify the polymer to better absorb sound in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz variety, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows show up typically in conversations because tempered glass is stronger in bending than annealed glass. That's true, and tempered lites are typically used as the external or inner ply in an effect system. However tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the hurricane sense. When it fails, it takes off into small cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening vulnerable. The effect efficiency comes from laminated construction, not tempering by itself. Lots of systems utilize a tempered outer lite laminated to a hardened inner lite, or both tempered, but always bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E coatings 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 range while keeping visible light transmission around half or greater. Go too low on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, particularly in bigger openings. The sweet spot depends on your exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I frequently tighten SHGC and accept a slight tint to manage early 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 control here because they handle big openings and will not swell. Thermal breaks and enhanced glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy gap with vinyl. Premium vinyl effect frames, when strengthened effectively, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have much better insulating values, but I prevent them for very broad sliders or tall storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad systems look beautiful in older Mediterranean Revival homes, however they demand careful upkeep and smart flashing. The Florida sun damages cheap vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum surfaces quickly. Try to find powder-coated finishes rated for seaside direct exposure, and demand composed guarantee information in salt-air environments.
Window installation can make or break performance. An expensive system set up like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's tension test. The load path is the crux. Effect forces have 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, you desire stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong product. Hollow cells need to 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 homes, structural screws should bite into strong trimmers, not simply sheathing. Shimming and plumb alignment matter so the locks engage easily and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not just aesthetic. A correctly sized backer rod and premium polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant create a durable, versatile seal that handles thermal growth. Too small a bead and it tears under movement. Too big and it remedies badly. On coastal tasks, I never ever match different metals without a barrier, and I constantly define corrosion-resistant fasteners. Ten years later on, you will see who took shortcuts.
Flashing is the other non-negotiable. Pan flashing at sills, self-adhered membranes at jambs and heads, and integration with the water-resistive barrier are important. If you rely on sealant alone, water will discover its method. That wetness may not show up as a drip. It might rot a sill plate gradually, then betray itself as a buckling flooring or a musty smell 2 hurricane seasons later.
I have absolutely nothing against well-designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are maintained and lubricated, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even detachable panels saved thoroughly can secure homes successfully. They also assist in specific cases.
Second homes or seasonal leasings where budget is tight sometimes lean on shutters to satisfy the Florida building regulations windows requirement for protected openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is hardly ever utilized in summer season, a tidy motorized roll-down can be sensible, specifically if pairing with impact windows and doors elsewhere worries the budget plan. For homeowners who prepare to move within a year, shutters can be a short bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring trade-offs. They darken your home when deployed, and they need action at precisely the time you are handling insurance documents, gas cans, and family logistics. Throughout Typhoon Irma, I saw a next-door neighbor try to install steel panels hours before landfall. The ladder sank in saturated soil, a panel slipped, and we spent the next hour in the immediate care waiting space. He survived with stitches. His living-room window did not. Shutters also 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, impact windows provide hurricane proof windows protection while preserving daylight and view. The convenience grows important once you've experienced one storm season with no prep beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes battle two fights: hidden load from humidity and reasonable load from direct solar heat gain. Effect glass upgrades can assist both if defined intelligently.
Low-E effect glass utilizes microscopically thin metal layers to show infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the best covering stacks, you can block a large portion of radiant heat and UV. UV blockage in laminated units comes mostly from the interlayer itself, which typically filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, reducing fading of materials and floor covering. Add the residential hurricane proof windows low-E, and you suppress the solar heat that drives your air conditioner crazy midafternoon.
I evaluate glass specifications with 3 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 threat. SHGC drives just how much solar heat enters. VT influences how brilliant the interior feels. Balance is key. Some property owners want the crisp, clear look of greater VT, even if it implies accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, since their landscaping and roof overhangs currently do some shading. Others prefer a more powerful tint for glare control on waterfront lots that reflect extreme light.
In useful terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to modern low-E laminated double-glazed units can lower peak solar gains by 30 to half on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored outside finishes, and a properly sized variable-speed a/c, and you start to build resilience. If the grid decreases and you switch to a generator, a lower cooling load suggests a smaller sized generator and fewer gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notification of Approval, or NOA, is the file you request for. It details the approved setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures checked. It is insufficient to hear "these are Miami-Dade approved windows" in a display room. Validate the NOA matches the precise model and options you are purchasing, consisting of the glazing makeup and hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your permitting workplace will want this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Item 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 count on Florida Item Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Many top manufacturers bring both. Where spending plans permit, I choose NOA items even outside the zone since the screening is stiffer.
NFRC labels deal with energy metrics. They won't inform you effect performance, however they reveal U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leakage. Go 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 upfront than shutters. There's no spin around that. Installed costs vary with size, shape, finish, and access. On straightforward single-family homes, per-opening costs frequently land between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for standard sizes. Big multi-panel sliders, custom arches, and coastal-grade finishes raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recoup worth:
If you prepare to own the property for five years or more, the math often tilts in favor of impact windows, particularly when you factor the intangible of assurance. If you plan to offer within a year and require to show compliance rapidly, shutters might make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I pay attention to hardware and devices. Multi-point locks on casements and awnings improve seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless housings move impact windows near me smoother and last longer on sandy outdoor patios. Look at the sill style on moving doors. Weep systems need to be engineered 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 style. Reflective films can contravene of neighborhood watch or produce mirror-like glare towards surrounding properties. In coastal communities, extremely reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Regional pros understand which finishings balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a big offer. Dark bronze or black frames look fantastic on modern-day homes, however in Florida sun inexpensive finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated finishes provide the best color retention and chalk resistance. I specify them for seaside direct exposures whenever budgets allow.

Historic districts frequently require profiles that mimic old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, however lead times lengthen and costs climb. Anticipate extra evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a specialist acquainted with these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations in some cases define a narrow list of approved items for harmony. They likewise care about noise control between units. If your building sits straight on Collins Avenue or deals with a hectic beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated options. Work with building management on staging and lift access. Weekend work windows and minimal parking can add days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, require special attention in design pressure, deflection, and operating hardware. Not every system 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 represent your website's zone, positive and unfavorable pressures, and mullion combinations if any.
The finest jobs begin with a determined survey and exposure analysis. You map each opening, note the substrate, and recognize any framing irregularities or settlement cracks. Throughout proposition, the specialist shows you the NOA and the Florida Product Approval, notes anchor types, and describes how each opening will be flashed and sealed. They prepare for stucco or drywall repairs, not pretend no damage will occur.
On install day, they remove one opening at a time to keep the house safe and secure. They safeguard floors, pull back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames come out with care to preserve 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, specifically if they will be hidden. After glazing, they water-test with a controlled spray to validate drain courses and seals. The inspector sees a neat jobsite, clear labels, and documentation in order.
Six months later, your windows still close with 2 fingers, locks bite smoothly, and there is no secret rattle during thunderstorms. You did not need to call for a roller modification after the first week. That is the standard.
Impact score does not equivalent breakproof. Laminated glass can crack under extreme effects, however it must remain in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends out particles into the glass, you might see star cracks or spidering. The window did its job. Change the sash or IGU after the event.
Window films do not convert non-impact windows into cyclone impact-resistant windows. They can include shatter resistance, however they do not substitute for an evaluated, anchored system. Your insurance company and structure department will not count movies as secured openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient effect windows minimize air leakage. That's fantastic, but it increases the value of an effectively sized a/c with good dehumidification. If your system is extra-large, the thermostat satisfies quickly and stops working to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your heating and cooling pro to inspect practical heat ratio, airflow, and run time. You want steady, longer cycles, not short bursts.
Maintenance is uncomplicated however 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 habits extend lifespan.

There are legitimate factors to blend options. A set of hardly ever utilized garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave budget. A deep-set porch with minimal sun direct exposure may do fine with accordion shutters if you focus on other upgrades like a brand-new roofing system deck attachment or a fortified garage door. Shutters can likewise secure outside kitchen areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age elegant hardware prematurely.
If you select shutters, invest in quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with manual bypasses for roll-downs make a difference. Designate duty for implementation and practice when beyond a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you require 32 wing nuts is not the early morning you wish to discover you have 29.
Impact windows are not only about surviving the big one. They reshape daily living. The living-room stays cooler and quieter. The AC cycles calmly instead of racing at 4 p.m. You sleep without freight trains of wind sound when a squall line passes at 2 a.m. When a typhoon threatens, your preparation list gets shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and concentrate on people instead of panels.
For a lot of my customers, that intangible is the deciding aspect. They know storms will come. They also understand life in South Florida is too good to live inside a fortress that only wakes up in August. Miami-Dade approved windows offer you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February morning and peaceful confidence when the spaghetti designs point our method September.
If you are weighing the option, start with a site-specific assessment. Match your direct exposures to develop pressures, choose the best laminated glass stack for wind and heat, select frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and work with a team that appreciates the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient effect windows deliver what shutters can not: protection that never ever requests a ladder and a better home every day of the year.