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 transporting ladders to mount panels. After 20 years defining, installing, and troubleshooting structure envelopes from Secret Largo to Palm Beach, I have actually seen what holds up and what doesn't. When the goal is genuine protection with year-round comfort, Miami-Dade approved, energy‑efficient effect windows exceed shutters in ways that exceed storm day. They change how a house feels in August, how peaceful 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 practical take a look at why lots of South Florida house owners are moving from shutters to hurricane impact-resistant windows, how to read the standards behind "Miami-Dade approved," what products matter, and how to get the setup right the first time.
Miami-Dade County's Item Control Department sets one of the toughest benchmarks in the country for constructing components exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker label. It is made through specific lab tests that replicate genuine cyclone conditions.
First comes big missile effect. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at the glass at approximately 34 miles per hour. That mimics roofing tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the impact, the exact same unit deals with cyclic pressure loading, thousands of pressurization and depressurization cycles that mimic rapid wind gusts over hours. If the glass remains in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The distinction between "satisfies Florida building code windows" and "Miami-Dade approved windows" often lives in these test limits. Miami-Dade is just stiffer, especially in High Speed Hurricane Zone requirements, that include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind ratings differ by opening size and style pressures, signified as PSF values. On ocean-facing residential or commercial properties or high-rises, I frequently define systems ranked at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more secured direct exposures, rankings in the +45/ -60 PSF range can be adequate, however you size and spec based upon the site's wind map, developing height, and surrounding structures. A professional knows that a corner direct exposure at the second story needs different reinforcement 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 much 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 desire is a ladder, a dead cordless drill, and a missing wing nut.
Impact windows reside in place. 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 advantage. 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 tasks along hectic passages like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight courses, I've measured interior sound drops in the 5 to 10 decibel range, sometimes more when paired with insulated glass units.
Security improves because laminated glass withstands required entry. An intruder can shatter the external lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the shards. They meet a sticky, stubborn membrane instead residential window installation of a quick path inside. Insurance underwriters know this, which is why policies frequently use credits for impact windows and doors. In my projects, premiums typically drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the carrier and how many openings are protected.
Energy performance is the 3rd pillar. Energy-efficient impact windows with modern low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while maintaining noticeable light. That indicates less a/c need, particularly on west and south exposures where the afternoon sun punishes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we changed 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E impact systems. Summer afternoon peak load visited roughly a lots of cooling, and the home's yearly electrical power use fell between 12 and 18 percent. Results vary with shading, attic insulation, and HVAC efficiency, but the direction is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, but not all laminated items are equal.
Most residential hurricane windows utilize a PVB interlayer glass stack, typically 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or numerous plies. Thicker interlayers enhance impact resistance and sound control, however they add weight and expense. For oceanfront or high openings, you may see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, permitting thinner sections to accomplish greater style pressures. For noise-sensitive sites, acoustic PVB solutions modify the polymer to much better take in noise in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz variety, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows come up frequently in conversations due to the fact that tempered glass is stronger in flexing than annealed glass. That's true, and tempered lites are commonly used as the external or inner ply in an effect system. However tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the cyclone sense. When it stops working, it takes off into little cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening susceptible. The impact efficiency comes from laminated construction, not tempering by itself. Many systems utilize a tempered outer lite laminated to a hardened inner lite, or both tempered, but constantly bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E coatings matter for comfort. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida generally targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 range while keeping noticeable light transmission around half or greater. Go too low on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, specifically in bigger openings. The sweet spot depends upon your façade orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I often tighten up SHGC and accept a small tint to handle morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I lean toward higher visible transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames dominate here since they handle big openings and won't swell. Thermal breaks and enhanced glazing gaskets have actually narrowed the energy gap with vinyl. Top quality vinyl impact frames, when enhanced appropriately, can perform well for standard-sized openings and have better insulating values, but I prevent them for extremely broad sliders or high storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad systems look gorgeous in older Mediterranean Revival homes, but they require mindful upkeep and smart flashing. The Florida sun damages cheap vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum finishes rapidly. Look for powder-coated finishes rated for seaside direct exposure, and request written guarantee details in salt-air environments.
Window installation can make or break efficiency. A pricey 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 take a trip from the glass through the frame, to the anchors, into the substrate, and after that into the structure's framing or masonry.
In concrete 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 happen. In wood-framed homes, structural screws must 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 just visual. A correctly sized backer rod and premium polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant produce a long lasting, flexible seal that manages thermal growth. Too little a bead and it tears under motion. Too big and it cures inadequately. On seaside tasks, I never pair dissimilar metals without a barrier, and I always 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 essential. If you rely on sealant alone, water will find its method. That moisture might disappoint up as a drip. It may rot a sill plate gradually, then betray itself as a buckling floor or a moldy smell two typhoon seasons later.
I have 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 safeguard homes efficiently. They also help in particular cases.
Second homes or seasonal leasings where budget is tight in some cases lean on shutters to satisfy the Florida building regulations windows requirement for safeguarded openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is hardly ever utilized in summer, a tidy motorized roll-down can be reasonable, specifically if pairing with impact doors and windows somewhere else stresses the spending plan. For property owners who plan to move within a year, shutters can be a short bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring compromises. They darken your house when released, and they require action at precisely the time you are juggling insurance papers, gas cans, and household logistics. During Hurricane Irma, I enjoyed a next-door neighbor try 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 survived with stitches. His living-room window did not. Shutters likewise rattle and can vibrate under sustained winds, often loosening up fasteners over time if not maintained.
For long-term owners who wish to set it and forget it, impact windows give hurricane proof windows protection while protecting daytime and view. The benefit grows important once you have actually experienced one storm season with absolutely no prep beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes fight 2 fights: latent load from humidity and sensible load from direct solar heat gain. Effect glass upgrades can help both if defined intelligently.
Low-E effect glass uses microscopically thin metallic layers to show infrared energy while letting noticeable light through. With the ideal covering stacks, you can obstruct a large portion of radiant heat and UV. UV blockage in laminated units comes largely from the interlayer itself, which typically filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, minimizing fading of materials and flooring. Add the low-E, and you curb the solar heat that drives your air conditioner insane midafternoon.
I examine glass specifications with 3 numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still assists here by reducing nighttime heat circulation and keeping the interior glass temperature level closer to space temperature, which minimizes 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 higher VT, even if it means accepting a few degrees more heat in late afternoon, due to the fact that their landscaping and roof overhangs currently do some shading. Others prefer a stronger tint for glare control on waterside lots that show harsh light.
In useful terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to modern-day 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 surfaces, and an effectively sized variable-speed HVAC, and you begin to develop durability. 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 Notification of Approval, or NOA, is the file you request for. It information the authorized setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures tested. It is inadequate to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" in a showroom. Confirm the NOA matches the precise model and choices you are purchasing, including the glazing makeup and hardware. If you are in Broward or Miami-Dade, your allowing office will desire this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Item Approval system supplies FL numbers that show code compliance. In the rest of the state outside the High Velocity Typhoon Zone, Florida building code windows can rely on Florida Product Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Many leading makers bring both. Where budgets allow, I choose NOA products even outside the zone because the testing is stiffer.
NFRC labels handle energy metrics. They won't tell you impact performance, but they show U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leak. Aim for air leakage at or listed 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 overlooking fresh air is a recipe for indoor air quality complaints.
Impact windows cost more upfront than shutters. There's no spin around that. Installed expenses vary with size, shape, surface, and access. On simple single-family homes, per-opening costs often land in between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for standard sizes. Large multi-panel sliders, custom arches, and coastal-grade surfaces raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recover worth:
If you plan to own the residential or commercial property for five years or more, the math frequently tilts in favor of effect windows, especially when you factor the intangible of comfort. If you prepare to sell within a year and require to reveal compliance quickly, shutters may make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I take note of hardware and devices. Multi-point locks on sashes and awnings enhance seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless housings glide smoother and last longer on sandy patio areas. Look at the Boca Raton commercial window installation sill style on sliding doors. Weep systems must be engineered to drain 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 films can run afoul of neighborhood watch or produce mirror-like glare towards surrounding residential or commercial properties. In coastal environments, extremely reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Local pros know which finishings balance efficiency with compliance.
Color stability is a huge offer. Dark bronze or black frames look fantastic on modern homes, but in Florida sun inexpensive finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated finishings supply the best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for seaside direct exposures whenever budgets allow.
Historic Boca Raton storm windows districts often need profiles that mimic old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, but 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 in some cases specify a narrow list of authorized products for uniformity. They likewise care about sound control in between units. If your structure sits straight on Collins Opportunity or faces a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated choices. Work with structure management on staging and lift gain access to. Weekend work windows and limited parking can include days and dollars.

Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, require special attention in style pressure, deflection, and operating hardware. Not every system that looks tough in a display room satisfies the wind loads on a ninth-floor balcony. Do not depend on catalog maximum sizes. Use the NOA tables that represent your website's zone, positive and negative pressures, and mullion combinations if any.
The finest projects start with a measured study and direct exposure analysis. You map each opening, keep in mind the substrate, and recognize any framing irregularities or settlement cracks. During proposition, the contractor shows you the NOA and the Florida Item Approval, notes 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 install day, they get rid of one opening at a time to keep your home secure. They safeguard floors, pull back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. professional window installation Boca Raton 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 photograph anchors for the authorization file, especially if they will be concealed. After glazing, they water-test with a regulated spray to validate drainage paths and seals. The inspector sees a neat jobsite, clear labels, and documentation in order.
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Six months later on, your windows still close with two fingers, locks bite smoothly, and there is no mystery rattle throughout thunderstorms. You did not have to call for a roller modification after the very first week. That is the standard.
Impact ranking does not equivalent breakproof. Laminated glass can break under extreme effects, however it needs to remain in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends out debris into the glass, you may see star fractures or spidering. The window did its job. Replace the sash or IGU after the event.
Window movies do not convert non-impact windows into cyclone impact-resistant windows. They can include shatter resistance, however they do not replacement for a checked, anchored system. Your insurer and building department will not count movies as protected openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient impact windows minimize air leak. That's excellent, however it increases the value of an appropriately sized HVAC with good dehumidification. If your system is extra-large, the thermostat satisfies rapidly and fails to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your a/c pro to inspect reasonable heat ratio, airflow, and run time. You want consistent, longer cycles, not short bursts.
Maintenance is straightforward however not optional. Tidy weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lubricate hardware each year with a silicone-based product that will not gum up in heat. Little routines extend lifespan.
There are genuine factors to blend services. A pair of rarely used garage windows can keep removable panels to shave budget. A deep-set patio with minimal sun exposure may do fine with accordion shutters if you focus on other upgrades like a brand-new roofing system deck attachment or a prepared garage door. Shutters can likewise secure outside kitchen areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age elegant hardware prematurely.
If you pick shutters, invest in quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with manual bypasses for roll-downs make a distinction. Designate duty for deployment and practice when outside of a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you require 32 wing nuts is not the early morning you want to find you have 29.
Impact windows are not only about surviving the big one. They improve daily living. The living room remains cooler and quieter. The air conditioner cycles calmly instead 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 typhoon threatens, your preparation list gets shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and concentrate on people rather than panels.
For many of my clients, that intangible is the choosing factor. They know storms will come. They likewise know life in South Florida is too great to live inside a fortress that just wakes up in August. Miami-Dade approved windows offer you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February morning and peaceful self-confidence when the spaghetti designs point our method September.
If you are weighing the choice, start with a site-specific evaluation. Match your exposures to create pressures, pick the best laminated glass stack for wind and heat, choose frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and hire a crew that respects the load course. Done right, energy‑efficient impact windows provide what shutters can not: protection that never requests a ladder and a better home every day of the year.