STS Impact Windows, Doors & Roofing is a veteran-owned company based in South Florida that specializes in premium hurricane protection solutions, including impact windows, doors, custom storefronts, and roofing. Combining over 25 years of industry experience with military precision, STS provides expert installation, full transparency, and outstanding customer service, backed by a leading 3-year installation warranty. Their comprehensive services ensure security and peace of mind for both residential and commercial clients, with a strong focus on quality, reliability, and efficiency.
View on Google MapsSTS Impact Windows and Doors specializes in hurricane protection solutions, offering high-quality impact windows, storm-resistant doors, custom storefronts, and professional roofing services. With expert installation, full transparency, and outstanding customer service, the company ensures homes and businesses stay secure and energy-efficient.
STS Impact Windows and Doors is located at 1000 Holland Dr Suite 10, Boca Raton, FL 33487, United States. The company proudly serves residential and commercial clients across Florida and throughout the United States, delivering reliable storm protection solutions. View their location on Google Maps.
Yes, STS Impact Windows and Doors is a veteran-owned company recognized for its dedication, integrity, and service to the community. This background adds an extra level of trust and reliability for homeowners and businesses seeking storm protection solutions.
STS Impact Windows and Doors provides a wide range of services including the installation of hurricane impact windows, impact doors, custom commercial storefronts, and roofing services. Each project is backed by expert craftsmanship, a 3-year installation warranty, and over 25 years of industry experience.
The company proudly serves both residential homeowners and commercial property owners. From protecting family homes to fortifying businesses with hurricane-rated storefronts, STS Impact Windows and Doors delivers customized solutions that ensure safety, durability, and efficiency.
Clients benefit from the company’s focus on quality, reliability, and efficiency. Their impact-resistant windows and doors not only enhance security and hurricane protection but also improve energy efficiency, reduce noise, and increase property value. With a 3-year installation warranty, customers can trust in long-term performance and peace of mind.
STS Impact Windows and Doors has been recognized with multiple industry honors, including the South Florida Veteran Owned Business Excellence Award, Best Hurricane Protection Provider 2023 Florida, and the Angi’s Super Service Award for Window Installation. These awards highlight their commitment to excellence, customer satisfaction, and industry leadership.
You can reach STS Impact Windows and Doors by phone at 561-600-1018 or visit their website at stswindows.com. They are open Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm and are available on Facebook and Instagram for updates and project showcases.
Business Name: STS Impact Windows & Doors
Address: 1000 Holland Dr #10, Boca Raton, FL 33487, United States
Phone: (561)-600-1018
Hurricane season shapes life along Florida's coasts. You feel it in the method next-door neighbors track tropical waves, the pre-storm rush to stockpile, and the ritual of hauling ladders to mount panels. After twenty years specifying, installing, and repairing structure envelopes from Key Largo to Palm Beach, I've seen what holds up and what does not. When the goal is real protection with year-round convenience, Miami-Dade authorized, energy‑efficient effect windows outshine shutters in manner ins which go beyond storm day. They change 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 take a look at why lots of South Florida property owners are moving from shutters to hurricane impact-resistant windows, how to check out the requirements behind "Miami-Dade authorized," what products matter, and how to get the setup right the very first time.
Miami-Dade County's Product Control Division sets among the most difficult benchmarks in the nation for constructing components exposed to windborne particles. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is earned through particular laboratory tests that simulate genuine cyclone conditions.
First comes large rocket impact. A 9-pound 2x4 is contended the glass at approximately 34 miles per hour. That simulates roof tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the effect, the exact same unit deals with cyclic pressure loading, thousands of pressurization and depressurization cycles that mimic quick wind gusts over hours. If the glass stays in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The distinction in between "meets Florida building regulations windows" and "Miami-Dade approved windows" often resides in these test thresholds. Miami-Dade is simply stiffer, particularly in High Speed Cyclone Zone requirements, that include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind scores differ by opening size and design pressures, represented as PSF worths. On ocean-facing homes or high-rises, I frequently specify systems ranked at +60/ -80 PSF or greater. Inland or in more safeguarded direct exposures, ratings in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can be enough, but you size and spec based upon the site's wind map, developing height, and surrounding structures. A professional understands that a corner direct exposure at the second story needs various support 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 better than absolutely nothing. However they ask you to do work at the worst possible time. When a watch turns to a caution 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 place. You get constant protection, 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 advantage. Laminated effect glass is basically a sandwich: 2 panes of glass bonded by a resilient interlayer, generally PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps sound. On jobs along hectic passages like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight paths, I've measured interior sound drops in the 5 to 10 decibel variety, often more when coupled with insulated glass units.
Security enhances since laminated glass withstands forced entry. A robber can shatter the outer lite with a hammer, however 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 impact windows and doors. In my jobs, premiums usually drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the provider and how many openings are protected.
Energy performance is the third pillar. Energy-efficient effect windows with modern-day low-E impact glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while protecting visible light. That suggests less air conditioning demand, particularly on west and south direct exposures where the afternoon sun punishes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we replaced 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E effect systems. Summer season afternoon peak load come by roughly a lots of cooling, and the home's yearly electrical power usage fell between 12 and 18 percent. Outcomes vary with shading, attic insulation, and HVAC performance, but the instructions is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, however not all laminated items are equal.
Most domestic cyclone windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, commonly 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or numerous plies. Thicker interlayers enhance impact resistance and sound control, but they include weight and cost. For oceanfront or high openings, you might see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, permitting thinner sections to accomplish greater design pressures. For noise-sensitive sites, acoustic PVB solutions fine-tune 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 often in discussions because tempered glass is more powerful in bending than annealed glass. That's true, and tempered lites are commonly used as the outer or inner ply in an effect unit. However tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the cyclone sense. When it stops working, it blows up into little cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening susceptible. The impact performance comes from laminated building, not tempering by itself. Many systems use a tempered outer lite laminated to a hardened inner lite, or both tempered, but always bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E coverings matter for comfort. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida normally targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 variety while keeping noticeable light transmission around 50 percent or greater. Go too short on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, specifically in bigger openings. The sweet spot depends upon your exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I frequently tighten SHGC and accept a small tint to handle 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 due to the fact that they deal with big openings and will not swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy space with vinyl. Premium vinyl impact frames, when reinforced correctly, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have much better insulating values, however I prevent them for really wide sliders or tall storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look beautiful in older Mediterranean Revival homes, but they require mindful upkeep and wise flashing. The Florida sun ruins cheap vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum surfaces rapidly. Search for powder-coated surfaces rated for coastal exposure, and request written warranty information in salt-air environments.
Window setup can make or break efficiency. A costly system set up 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 cinder block building and construction, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong product. Hollow cells need to be grouted or you need to strike 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 visual. A properly sized backer rod and top quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant create a resilient, flexible seal that deals with thermal growth. Too small a bead and it tears under motion. Too huge and it cures inadequately. On coastal tasks, I never ever pair dissimilar metals without a barrier, and I always specify corrosion-resistant fasteners. Ten 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 rely on sealant alone, water will discover its method. That moisture may disappoint 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 absolutely nothing against well-designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are kept and lubed, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even detachable panels stored carefully can protect homes efficiently. They likewise help in certain cases.
Second homes or seasonal rentals where budget plan is tight sometimes lean on shutters to satisfy the Florida building regulations windows requirement for secured openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is seldom used in summer, a clean motorized roll-down can be reasonable, particularly if pairing with effect doors and windows elsewhere stresses the budget plan. For house owners 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 released, and they require action at exactly the time you are managing insurance papers, gas cans, and family logistics. Throughout Typhoon 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 invested the next hour in the immediate care waiting space. He made it through with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters likewise rattle and can vibrate under continual winds, in some cases loosening fasteners over time if not maintained.
For long-term owners who want to set it and forget it, impact windows offer typhoon evidence windows protection while preserving daylight and view. The convenience grows valuable once you have actually experienced one storm season with zero prep beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes combat two battles: latent load from humidity and reasonable load from direct solar heat gain. Effect glass upgrades can assist both if defined intelligently.
Low-E effect glass uses microscopically thin metal layers to show infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the right finish stacks, you can obstruct a large part of radiant heat and UV. UV obstruction in laminated units comes mainly from the interlayer itself, which generally filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, minimizing fading of materials and flooring. Include the low-E, and you curb the solar heat that drives your a/c crazy midafternoon.
I examine glass specifications with three numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still assists here by minimizing nighttime heat flow and keeping the interior glass temperature closer to room temperature level, which lowers condensation risk. SHGC drives how much solar heat gets in. VT influences how bright the interior feels. Balance is crucial. Some property owners desire the crisp, clear appearance of greater VT, even if it suggests accepting a few degrees more heat in late afternoon, because their landscaping and roofing system overhangs currently do some shading. Others choose a stronger tint for glare control on waterside lots that show extreme light.
In useful terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to modern low-E laminated double-glazed units can reduce peak solar gains by 30 to half on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored exterior finishes, and an effectively sized variable-speed a/c, and you begin to develop strength. If the grid goes down and you change to a generator, a lower cooling load indicates a smaller generator and less gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance, or NOA, is the document you request for. It information the approved configurations, sizes, anchors, and pressures tested. It is inadequate to hear "these are Miami-Dade approved windows" in a display room. Verify the NOA matches the exact design and alternatives you are purchasing, consisting of the glazing makeup and hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your allowing workplace will desire this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Product Approval system supplies FL numbers that reveal code compliance. In the remainder of the state outside the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, Florida building regulations windows can depend on Florida Product Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Numerous top manufacturers carry both. Where spending plans permit, I choose NOA items even outside the zone due to the fact that the screening is stiffer.
NFRC labels manage energy metrics. They will not inform you impact performance, however they reveal U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leak. Aim for air leak at or below 0.3 cfm/ft TWO. Tighter is better for humidity control, but ensure your home still has actually stabilized ventilation. Sealing the envelope and neglecting fresh air is a recipe for indoor air quality complaints.
Impact windows cost more in advance than shutters. There's no spin around that. Installed expenses vary with size, shape, surface, and gain access to. On straightforward single-family homes, per-opening costs typically land between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for standard sizes. Big multi-panel sliders, customized arches, and coastal-grade surfaces raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recover worth:
If you plan to own the residential or commercial property for 5 years or more, the mathematics typically tilts in favor of effect windows, particularly when you factor the intangible of peace of mind. If you prepare to sell within a year and need to show compliance rapidly, shutters may make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I focus on hardware and devices. Multi-point locks on casements and awnings improve seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless real estates move smoother and last longer on sandy patio areas. Look at the sill style on moving doors. Weep systems need to be engineered to drain pipes heavy rains without letting wind-driven water blow back in. Ask to see a cutaway sample in the showroom.
Tint colors and reflectivity are more than style. Reflective films can contravene of neighborhood watch or produce mirror-like glare toward surrounding homes. In coastal environments, extremely reflective glass can puzzle birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Regional pros know which coverings balance efficiency stormproof window maintenance with compliance.
Color stability is a big deal. Dark bronze or black frames look wonderful on contemporary homes, but in Florida sun low-cost surfaces chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coverings supply the best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for coastal exposures whenever spending plans allow.
Historic districts often need profiles that mimic old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, but lead times lengthen and costs climb. Anticipate extra evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a professional familiar with these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations often define a narrow list of approved products for uniformity. They also appreciate noise control in between units. If your building sits straight on Collins Opportunity or faces a hectic beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated options. Work with building management on staging and lift access. Weekend work windows and restricted parking can add days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, need unique attention in design pressure, deflection, and running hardware. Not every system that looks strong in a showroom fulfills the wind loads on a ninth-floor veranda. Do not count on brochure maximum sizes. Use the NOA tables that correspond to your site's zone, favorable and negative pressures, and mullion combinations if any.
The finest tasks start with a determined survey and exposure analysis. You map each opening, keep in mind the substrate, and recognize any framing abnormalities or settlement cracks. During proposition, the professional reveals you the NOA and the Florida Item Approval, lists anchor types, and discusses 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 eliminate one opening at a time to keep your house secure. They protect floors, draw back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames bring out care to preserve interior finishes. New systems get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The crew checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photo anchors for the license file, specifically if they will be concealed. After glazing, they water-test with a regulated spray to validate drainage courses and seals. The inspector sees a cool jobsite, clear labels, and documentation 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 have to require a roller modification after the very first week. That is the standard.
Impact ranking does not equivalent breakproof. Laminated glass can split under extreme effects, but it should stay in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends particles into the glass, you may see star cracks or spidering. The window did its task. Replace the sash or IGU after the event.
Window films do not transform non-impact windows into typhoon impact-resistant windows. They can include shatter resistance, but they do not replacement for an evaluated, anchored system. Your insurer and structure department will not count movies as protected openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient effect windows decrease air leakage. That's fantastic, however it increases the value of a correctly sized HVAC with excellent dehumidification. If your system is oversized, the thermostat pleases quickly and stops working to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your a/c pro to check reasonable heat ratio, airflow, and run time. You desire steady, longer cycles, not brief bursts.

Maintenance is uncomplicated however not optional. Tidy weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and oil hardware every year with a silicone-based item that will not gum up in heat. Small routines extend lifespan.
There are genuine reasons to mix options. A pair of hardly ever used garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave budget plan. A deep-set deck with minimal sun direct exposure may do fine with accordion shutters if you focus on other upgrades like a new roofing deck accessory or a fortified garage door. Shutters can also secure outside kitchens or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age expensive hardware prematurely.
If you choose shutters, invest in quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with handbook overrides for roll-downs make a distinction. Designate obligation for deployment and practice once 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 surviving the big one. They reshape daily living. The living-room remains cooler and quieter. The air conditioning 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 a lot of my clients, that intangible is the choosing aspect. They know storms will come. They likewise know life in South Florida is too good to live inside a fortress that only gets up in August. Miami-Dade authorized windows provide you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February morning and quiet confidence when the spaghetti models point our method September.
If you are weighing the choice, start with a site-specific assessment. Match your direct exposures to develop pressures, select the right laminated glass stack for wind and heat, select frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and hire a team that respects the load course. Done right, energy‑efficient impact windows provide what shutters can not: security that never ever requests a ladder and a much better home every day of the year.