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 hauling ladders to install panels. After 20 years specifying, installing, and troubleshooting building envelopes from Key Largo to Palm Beach, I've seen what holds up and what doesn't. When the goal is real protection with year-round comfort, Miami-Dade approved, energy‑efficient effect windows outperform shutters in ways that go beyond 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 quicker than predicted.
This is a practical look windborne debris protection at why lots of South Florida house owners are moving from shutters to hurricane impact-resistant windows, how to read the requirements behind "Miami-Dade approved," what products matter, and how to get the setup right the very first time.
Miami-Dade County's Item Control Division sets one impact window cost of the most difficult criteria in the nation for building parts exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is made through specific laboratory tests that replicate genuine cyclone conditions.
First comes large missile effect. 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 unit faces cyclic pressure loading, countless pressurization and depressurization cycles that simulate rapid wind gusts over hours. If the glass stays in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The difference between "satisfies Florida building code windows" and "Miami-Dade authorized windows" often lives in these test limits. Miami-Dade is just stiffer, especially in High Speed Hurricane Zone requirements, which include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind scores differ by opening size and style pressures, signified as PSF worths. On ocean-facing properties or high-rises, I frequently specify units ranked at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more secured exposures, scores in the +45/ -60 PSF range can be adequate, however you size and specification based upon the website's wind map, constructing height, and surrounding structures. An expert knows that a corner exposure at the 2nd story demands various reinforcement than a sheltered window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs effect windows is not a one-to-one comparison. Shutters can meet code, and they're much better than absolutely nothing. But they ask you to do operate at the worst possible time. When a watch turns to a caution 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 benefits every day of the year.
Noise control is the most underappreciated benefit. Laminated effect glass is essentially a sandwich: 2 panes of glass bonded by a resistant interlayer, usually PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps sound. On tasks along hectic passages like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight paths, I have actually measured interior noise drops in the 5 to 10 decibel range, sometimes more when paired with insulated glass units.
Security enhances because laminated glass resists forced entry. A robber can shatter the external lite with a hammer, however the interlayer holds the shards. They satisfy a sticky, persistent membrane rather of a fast course inside. Insurance coverage underwriters know this, which is why policies often provide credits for effect windows and doors. In my tasks, premiums usually drop 10 to 25 percent, depending on the carrier and how many openings are protected.
Energy performance is the 3rd pillar. Energy-efficient effect windows with contemporary low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while protecting noticeable light. That indicates less cooling need, especially 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 units. Summer season afternoon peak load stopped by approximately a ton of cooling, and the home's yearly electricity usage fell between 12 and 18 percent. Outcomes differ with shading, attic insulation, and HVAC performance, however the direction is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, but not all laminated products are equal.
Most residential cyclone windows utilize a PVB interlayer glass stack, frequently 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or several plies. Thicker interlayers improve impact resistance and sound control, but they include weight and expense. For oceanfront or high openings, you may see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, permitting thinner areas to attain greater design pressures. For noise-sensitive sites, acoustic PVB formulations fine-tune the polymer to much better absorb noise in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz variety, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows come up typically in conversations due to the fact that tempered glass is more powerful in flexing than annealed glass. That holds true, and tempered lites are frequently utilized 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 explodes into small cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening vulnerable. The effect performance comes from laminated building and construction, not tempering by itself. Numerous systems utilize a tempered external lite laminated to an annealed inner lite, or both tempered, however constantly bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E coatings matter for convenience. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida typically targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 range while keeping visible light transmission around 50 percent or greater. Go too low on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, particularly in larger openings. The sweet spot depends upon your façade orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I often tighten up SHGC and accept a minor tint to manage early morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I favor greater visible transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames control here since they handle large openings and will not swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have actually narrowed the energy space with vinyl. Top quality vinyl effect frames, when strengthened effectively, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have better insulating values, however I avoid them for extremely wide sliders or high storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look lovely in older Mediterranean Revival homes, but they require cautious upkeep and clever flashing. The Florida sun ruins low-cost vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum finishes quickly. Search for powder-coated surfaces ranked for seaside direct exposure, and request composed service warranty details in salt-air environments.
Window setup can make or break performance. A pricey unit installed like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's stress test. The load path is the core. Effect 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 cinder block building, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong material. Hollow cells must be grouted or you require to hit the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to occur. In wood-framed houses, structural screws should bite into solid trimmers, not just sheathing. Shimming and plumb alignment matter so the locks engage cleanly and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not just aesthetic. An appropriately sized backer rod and high-quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant develop a resilient, versatile seal that handles thermal expansion. Too small a bead and it tears under movement. Too big and it treatments inadequately. On seaside tasks, I never ever pair different metals without a barrier, and I always specify 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 combination with the water-resistive barrier are crucial. If you count on sealant alone, water will discover its way in. That moisture may 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 absolutely nothing versus properly designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are maintained and lubed, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels kept thoroughly can secure homes effectively. They also help in specific cases.
Second homes or seasonal leasings where budget is tight in some cases lean on shutters to fulfill the Florida building regulations windows requirement for protected openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is hardly ever used in summer, a tidy motorized roll-down can be affordable, especially if coupling with effect windows and doors somewhere else worries the budget plan. For property owners who prepare to move within a year, shutters can be a brief bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring compromises. They darken your house when released, and they require action at specifically the time you are managing insurance papers, gas cans, and family logistics. During Hurricane Irma, I enjoyed a next-door neighbor attempt to install steel panels hours before landfall. The ladder sank in saturated soil, a panel slipped, and we spent the next hour in the immediate care waiting space. He survived with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters likewise rattle and can vibrate under continual winds, in some cases loosening fasteners gradually if not maintained.
For long-term owners who want to set it and forget it, effect windows offer typhoon evidence windows protection while preserving daytime and view. The convenience grows valuable once you've experienced one storm season with absolutely no preparation beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes combat 2 battles: latent load from humidity and sensible load from direct solar heat gain. Effect glass upgrades can help both if specified intelligently.
Low-E impact glass uses microscopically thin metal layers to reflect infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the ideal covering stacks, you can block a big portion 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, reducing fading of materials and floor covering. Include the low-E, and you suppress the solar heat that drives your a/c insane midafternoon.
I examine glass specs with three numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still assists here by lowering nighttime heat flow and keeping the interior glass temperature closer to room temperature level, which decreases condensation danger. SHGC drives just how much solar heat gets in. VT influences how brilliant the interior feels. Balance is key. Some house owners want the crisp, clear appearance of greater VT, even if it means accepting a few 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 waterside lots that show extreme light.

In useful terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to contemporary low-E laminated double-glazed units can lower peak solar gains by 30 to 50 percent on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored outside surfaces, and an effectively sized variable-speed a/c, and you start to develop durability. If the grid goes down and you switch to a generator, a lower cooling ENERGY STAR windows load means a smaller sized generator and fewer gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance, or NOA, is the document you ask for. It information the approved configurations, sizes, anchors, and pressures evaluated. It is inadequate to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" in a display room. Confirm the NOA matches the precise model and choices you are purchasing, consisting of the glazing makeup and tempered glass code Florida hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your allowing workplace will want this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Item Approval system supplies FL numbers that reveal code compliance. In the rest of the state outside the High Speed Typhoon Zone, Florida building regulations Design pressure (DP) rating windows can rely on Florida Item Approval without Miami-Dade particular NOAs. Numerous leading manufacturers carry both. Where budget plans enable, I prefer NOA items even outside the zone since the testing is stiffer.
NFRC labels handle energy metrics. They won't tell you effect efficiency, but they show U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leakage. Aim for air leakage at or listed below 0.3 cfm/ft ². Tighter is better for humidity control, but make certain your home still has stabilized ventilation. Sealing the envelope and ignoring fresh air is a dish for indoor air quality complaints.
Impact windows cost more upfront than shutters. There's no spin around that. Set up costs differ with size, shape, surface, and gain access to. On simple single-family homes, per-opening costs frequently land in between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for basic sizes. Large multi-panel sliders, custom arches, and coastal-grade surfaces raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recover worth:
If you prepare to own the property for five years or more, the math frequently 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 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 casements and awnings improve seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless housings glide smoother and last longer on sandy outdoor patios. Take a look at the sill style on sliding doors. Weep systems must be crafted 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 fashion. Reflective movies can contravene of neighborhood associations or produce mirror-like glare toward neighboring properties. In seaside communities, extremely reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Regional pros understand which coatings 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 low-cost finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated finishings provide the best color retention and chalk resistance. I specify them for coastal direct exposures whenever budget plans allow.
Historic districts often require profiles that imitate old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, but lead times lengthen and costs climb. Expect extra evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a professional knowledgeable about these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations in some cases define a narrow list of approved products for harmony. They likewise care about noise control between systems. If your building sits directly on Collins Opportunity or deals with a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated alternatives. Work with structure management on staging and lift gain access to. Weekend work windows and restricted parking can add days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, need special attention in design pressure, deflection, and operating hardware. Not every system that looks strong in a showroom meets the wind loads on a ninth-floor balcony. Do not rely on catalog optimum sizes. Utilize the NOA tables that represent your website's zone, favorable and negative pressures, and mullion combinations if any.
The best jobs start with a determined study and exposure analysis. You map each opening, keep in mind the substrate, and recognize any framing irregularities or settlement fractures. Throughout proposition, the contractor reveals you the NOA and the Florida Item Approval, lists anchor types, and explains how each opening will be flashed and sealed. They prepare 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 safe and secure. They safeguard floors, pull back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames come out with care to protect interior surfaces. New units get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The crew checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photo anchors for the permit file, specifically 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 paperwork in order.
Six months later, your windows still close with two 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 ranking does not equivalent breakproof. Laminated glass can crack under serious effects, however it ought to stay in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends particles into the glass, you might see star cracks or spidering. The window did its job. Change 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, but they do not replacement for an evaluated, anchored system. Your insurance company and building department will not count films as protected openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient effect windows minimize air leakage. That's excellent, however it increases the value of a properly sized HVAC 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, air flow, and run time. You want stable, longer cycles, not brief bursts.
Maintenance is straightforward however not optional. Tidy weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lubricate hardware annually with a silicone-based product that will not gum up in heat. Small practices extend lifespan.
There are legitimate reasons to blend solutions. A pair of rarely utilized garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave budget. A deep-set deck with very little sun 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 likewise safeguard outside kitchens or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age elegant hardware prematurely.
If you select shutters, purchase quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with handbook 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 discover 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 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 cyclone threatens, your preparation list gets shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and concentrate on individuals instead of panels.
For a lot of my customers, that intangible is the deciding element. They understand storms will come. They likewise understand life in South Florida is too excellent to live inside a fortress that only wakes up in August. Miami-Dade authorized windows provide you both: a clear view of Biscayne Bay on a breezy February early morning and quiet self-confidence when the spaghetti models point our method September.
If you are weighing the option, start with a site-specific evaluation. Match your exposures to create pressures, select the ideal laminated glass stack for wind and heat, choose frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and hire a team that respects the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient effect windows deliver what shutters can not: security that never requests for a ladder and a better home every day of the year.