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 ritual of carrying ladders to mount panels. After two decades specifying, setting up, and troubleshooting building envelopes from Key Largo to Palm Beach, I have actually seen what holds up and what doesn't. When the goal is genuine defense with year-round convenience, Miami-Dade authorized, energy‑efficient impact windows outshine shutters in manner ins which go beyond storm day. They change how a house feels in August, how quiet your living-room stays on a Saturday night, and how confident you are when a storm line spins up quicker than predicted.
This is a useful look at why many South Florida homeowners are moving from shutters to hurricane impact-resistant windows, how to read the requirements behind "Miami-Dade authorized," what materials matter, and how to get the installation right the first time.
Miami-Dade County's Item Control Division sets one of the most difficult criteria in the nation for building elements exposed to windborne particles. Approval is not a marketing sticker label. It is earned through particular laboratory tests that simulate genuine hurricane conditions.
First comes large rocket impact. A 9-pound 2x4 is contended the glass at roughly 34 miles per hour. That mimics roof tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the impact, the same system faces cyclic pressure loading, countless pressurization and depressurization cycles that mimic quick wind gusts over hours. If the glass remains in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The difference in between "fulfills Florida building code windows" and "Miami-Dade approved windows" often lives in these test limits. Miami-Dade is merely stiffer, especially in High Velocity Cyclone Zone requirements, which include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind scores vary by opening size and style pressures, represented as PSF worths. On ocean-facing properties or high-rises, I typically define systems ranked at +60/ -80 PSF or greater. Inland or in more secured direct exposures, scores in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can be enough, but you size and specification based upon the website's wind map, constructing height, and surrounding structures. An expert understands that a corner direct exposure at the 2nd story needs various reinforcement than a protected window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs effect windows is not a one-to-one comparison. Shutters can satisfy code, and they're much better than absolutely 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 live in location. You get continuous security, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on United States 1. You likewise get benefits every day of the year.
Noise control is the most underappreciated benefit. Laminated effect glass is basically a sandwich: two panes of glass bonded by a resilient interlayer, typically PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps noise. On jobs along hectic corridors like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight courses, I've measured interior sound drops in the 5 to 10 decibel variety, often more when coupled with insulated glass units.
Security improves because laminated glass resists forced entry. vinyl vs aluminum window frames A burglar can shatter the external lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the shards. They fulfill a sticky, Hurricane impact windows and doors persistent membrane instead of a fast path inside. Insurance underwriters know this, which is why policies frequently use credits for impact doors and windows. In my projects, 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 effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while preserving visible light. That suggests less a/c demand, especially on west and south direct exposures where the afternoon sun punishes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we changed 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E effect systems. Summer afternoon peak load stopped by approximately a ton of cooling, and the home's annual electricity use fell in between 12 and 18 percent. Outcomes vary with shading, attic insulation, and heating and cooling efficiency, but the direction is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, however not all laminated products are equal.
Most domestic hurricane windows use a PVB interlayer glass stack, typically 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or numerous plies. Thicker interlayers improve impact resistance and sound control, however they include weight and cost. For oceanfront or high openings, you might see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, allowing thinner sections to achieve greater design pressures. For noise-sensitive websites, 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 show up often in conversations due to the fact that tempered glass is stronger in flexing than annealed glass. That's true, and tempered lites are typically used as the external or inner ply in an impact system. But tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the typhoon sense. When it fails, it takes off into small cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening vulnerable. The impact performance originates from laminated building, not tempering by itself. Many systems utilize a tempered external lite laminated to a hardened inner lite, or both tempered, however constantly bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E finishings matter for convenience. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida normally targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 range while keeping visible light transmission around 50 percent or higher. Go too low on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, particularly in bigger openings. The sweet spot depends upon your exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I typically tighten SHGC and accept a minor tint to manage morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I lean toward greater noticeable transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames control here because they manage large openings and will not swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy gap with vinyl. High-quality vinyl impact frames, when enhanced appropriately, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have much better insulating values, but I avoid them for very wide sliders or tall storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look gorgeous in older Mediterranean Revival homes, but they require careful maintenance and clever flashing. The Florida sun ruins cheap vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum surfaces rapidly. Search for powder-coated finishes ranked for coastal direct exposure, and demand written service warranty details in salt-air environments.
Window setup can make or break efficiency. A costly system installed like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's stress test. The load course is the crux. Impact forces have to travel from the glass through the frame, to the anchors, into the substrate, and then into the structure's framing or masonry.
In concrete block building and construction, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong material. Hollow cells need to be grouted or you require to strike the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to occur. In wood-framed homes, structural screws need to bite into strong trimmers, not simply sheathing. Shimming and plumb positioning matter so the locks engage easily and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not simply visual. An effectively sized backer rod and premium polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant create a long lasting, versatile seal that deals with thermal expansion. Too small a bead and it tears under motion. Too big and it remedies inadequately. On seaside tasks, I never ever combine different 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 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 flooring or a musty smell two cyclone seasons later.
I have absolutely nothing against properly designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are kept and lubed, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels stored carefully can safeguard homes effectively. They likewise assist in certain cases.
Second homes or seasonal leasings where budget is tight in some cases lean on shutters to satisfy the Florida building code windows requirement for safeguarded openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is rarely utilized in summertime, a clean motorized roll-down can be affordable, specifically if pairing with impact windows and doors somewhere else worries 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 compromises. They darken your home when released, and they require action at exactly the time you are juggling insurance papers, gas cans, and household logistics. Throughout Cyclone Irma, I watched 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 likewise rattle and can vibrate under continual winds, sometimes loosening up fasteners gradually if not maintained.
For long-lasting owners who want to set it and forget it, effect windows offer hurricane evidence windows protection while preserving daylight and view. The convenience grows valuable once you have actually experienced one storm season with zero preparation beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes fight two fights: latent load from humidity and sensible load from direct solar heat gain. Impact glass upgrades can assist both if defined intelligently.
Low-E effect glass uses microscopically thin metallic layers to reflect infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the right coating stacks, you can obstruct a large part of radiant heat and UV. UV clog in laminated systems comes mostly from the interlayer itself, which usually filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, decreasing fading of fabrics and floor covering. Add the low-E, and you suppress the solar heat that drives your air conditioning insane midafternoon.
I examine glass specifications with three numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still helps here by minimizing nighttime heat flow and keeping the interior glass temperature level closer to room temperature, which reduces condensation risk. SHGC drives just how much solar heat enters. VT influences how brilliant the interior feels. Balance is key. Some house owners desire the crisp, clear look of greater VT, even if it indicates accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, since their landscaping and roofing overhangs already do some shading. Others prefer a more powerful tint for glare control on waterfront lots that show severe light.
In practical terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to modern low-E laminated double-glazed systems 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 correctly sized variable-speed HVAC, and you start to build strength. If the grid goes down and you change to a generator, a lower cooling load means a smaller generator and less gallons of fuel.

Miami-Dade Notification of Approval, or NOA, is the document you ask for. It information the authorized configurations, sizes, anchors, and pressures tested. It is insufficient to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" in a showroom. Validate the NOA matches the precise model and alternatives you are purchasing, including the glazing makeup and hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your allowing office will want this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Product Approval system provides FL numbers that show code compliance. In the remainder of the state outside the High Velocity Cyclone Zone, Florida building regulations windows can rely on Florida Item Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Many leading producers carry both. Where spending plans permit, I prefer NOA products even outside the zone due to the fact that the screening is stiffer.
NFRC labels handle energy metrics. They won't inform you effect performance, but they show 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 sure your home still has actually 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 differ with size, shape, surface, and access. On simple single-family homes, per-opening expenses often land between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for standard sizes. Large multi-panel sliders, custom arches, and coastal-grade finishes raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recoup value:
If you plan to own the property for 5 years or more, the mathematics often tilts in favor of impact windows, especially when you factor the intangible of peace of mind. If you plan to sell within a year and require to reveal compliance quickly, shutters might make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I pay attention to hardware and devices. Multi-point locks on sashes and awnings improve seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless real estates slide smoother and last longer on sandy patio areas. Take a look at the sill design on moving doors. Weep systems need to be crafted to drain pipes heavy rainfall without letting wind-driven water blow back in. Ask to see a cutaway sample in the showroom.
Tint colors and reflectivity are more than style. Reflective movies can contravene of neighborhood watch or produce mirror-like glare toward surrounding properties. In coastal environments, highly reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Local pros know which finishes balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a huge offer. Dark bronze or black frames look great on modern homes, however in Florida sun inexpensive finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated finishings provide the very best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for coastal direct exposures whenever spending plans allow.
Historic districts frequently require profiles that mimic old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, however lead times extend 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 authorized items for uniformity. They likewise care about noise control between systems. If your structure sits directly on Collins Avenue or faces a hectic beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated alternatives. Deal with structure management on staging and lift access. Weekend work windows and restricted 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 strong in a showroom satisfies the wind loads on a ninth-floor terrace. Do not depend on brochure maximum sizes. Utilize the NOA tables that correspond to your website's zone, favorable and unfavorable pressures, and mullion mixes if any.
The best tasks start with a determined study and exposure analysis. You map each opening, keep in mind the substrate, and identify any framing abnormalities or settlement cracks. During proposal, the professional shows you the NOA and the Florida Item Approval, lists anchor types, triple-pane windows and describes how each opening will be flashed and sealed. They plan for stucco or drywall repairs, not pretend no damage will occur.
On install day, they eliminate one opening at a time to keep your house protected. They protect floors, draw back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames bring out care to protect interior surfaces. New units get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The team checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They picture anchors for the authorization file, specifically if they will be concealed. After glazing, they water-test with a regulated spray to confirm drain paths and seals. The inspector sees a cool jobsite, clear labels, and paperwork 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 need to require a roller modification after the very first week. That is the standard.
Impact rating does not equal breakproof. Laminated glass can crack under severe impacts, however it must remain in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends out particles Miami-Dade County Notice of Acceptance into the glass, you might see star cracks or spidering. The window did its task. Replace the sash or IGU after the event.
Window movies do not convert non-impact windows into typhoon impact-resistant windows. They can add shatter resistance, however they do not alternative to a checked, anchored system. Your insurance company and structure department will not count films as safeguarded openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient effect windows reduce air leak. That's great, but it increases the significance of an appropriately sized heating and cooling with great 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 examine practical heat ratio, airflow, and run time. You desire stable, longer cycles, not brief 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 item that will not gum up in heat. Little practices extend lifespan.
There are genuine reasons to mix options. A set of rarely utilized garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave budget. A deep-set porch with very little sun direct exposure may do fine with accordion shutters low-e laminated glass if you prioritize other upgrades like a brand-new roofing system deck attachment or a fortified garage door. Shutters can also safeguard outdoor kitchen areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age elegant hardware prematurely.
If you choose shutters, buy quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with manual overrides for roll-downs make a distinction. Appoint duty for deployment and practice when beyond a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you require 32 wing nuts is not the early morning you want to discover you have 29.
Impact windows are not only about surviving the huge one. They improve daily living. The living room stays cooler and quieter. The air conditioning cycles calmly rather 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 focus on individuals rather than panels.
For many of my clients, that intangible is the deciding element. They know storms will come. They likewise understand life in South Florida is too good to live inside a fortress that only gets up in August. Miami-Dade approved windows give you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February early morning and quiet confidence when the spaghetti designs point our way in September.
If you are weighing the option, start with a site-specific assessment. Match your exposures to create pressures, select the best laminated glass stack for wind and heat, select frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and hire a team that appreciates the load course. Done right, energy‑efficient impact windows deliver what shutters can not: security that never requests a ladder and a much better home every day of the year.