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 install panels. After two decades specifying, installing, and repairing structure envelopes from Secret Largo to Palm Beach, I have actually seen what holds up and what does not. When the goal is real security with year-round comfort, Miami-Dade approved, energy‑efficient impact windows exceed shutters in manner ins which surpass storm day. They change how a home feels in August, how peaceful your living-room remains on a Saturday night, and how confident you are when a storm line spins up faster than predicted.
This is a useful look 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 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 hardest criteria in the nation for building components exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is earned through specific lab tests that imitate real typhoon conditions.
First comes large rocket effect. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at the glass at roughly 34 miles per hour. That simulates roofing tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing Boca Raton hurricane proof window installation that fly in the eyewall. After the impact, the exact same system 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 difference between "satisfies Florida building regulations windows" and "Miami-Dade approved windows" often resides in these test thresholds. Miami-Dade is just stiffer, particularly in High Velocity Cyclone Zone requirements, which include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind rankings vary by opening size and style pressures, represented as PSF values. On ocean-facing properties or high-rises, I often specify units rated at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more safeguarded direct exposures, rankings in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can suffice, but you size and spec based on the site's wind map, building height, and surrounding structures. An expert knows that a corner direct exposure at the 2nd story needs different support than a protected window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs effect windows is not a one-to-one comparison. Shutters can fulfill code, and they're better than nothing. But they ask you to do work at the worst possible time. When a watch turns to a warning and the forecast track tightens up, the last thing you desire is a ladder, a dead cordless drill, and a missing wing nut.
Impact windows live in location. You get continuous security, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on US 1. You also get advantages every day of the year.
Noise control is the most underappreciated benefit. Laminated impact glass is essentially a sandwich: 2 panes of glass bonded by a resilient interlayer, normally PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps noise. On tasks along busy 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 enhances since laminated glass withstands required entry. A burglar can shatter the external lite with a hammer, however the interlayer holds the fragments. They satisfy a sticky, stubborn membrane instead of a quick course inside. Insurance underwriters know this, which is why policies frequently offer credits for effect windows and doors. In my tasks, premiums typically drop 10 to 25 percent, depending on the provider and the number of 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 protecting noticeable light. That indicates less cooling need, especially on west and south exposures where the afternoon sun penalizes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we replaced 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E impact systems. Summer season afternoon peak load come by roughly a lots of cooling, and the home's yearly electrical energy use fell in between 12 and 18 percent. Results vary with shading, attic insulation, and a/c efficiency, however the direction is consistent.
Laminated impact glass is the heart of the system, however not all laminated items are equal.
Most residential hurricane windows use 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, however they include weight and expense. For oceanfront or tall openings, you may see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and more powerful than PVB, permitting thinner sections to attain greater design pressures. For noise-sensitive websites, acoustic PVB formulas tweak the polymer to much better take in noise in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz range, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows come up often in conversations because tempered glass is more powerful in flexing than annealed glass. That holds true, and tempered lites are typically utilized as the outer or inner ply in an impact unit. However 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 efficiency originates from laminated building, not tempering by itself. Numerous systems use a tempered external lite laminated to an annealed inner lite, or both tempered, however constantly bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E finishes 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 variety while keeping visible light transmission around 50 percent or higher. Go too short on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, especially in larger openings. The sweet spot depends on your exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I often tighten SHGC and accept a slight tint to handle early morning and afternoon blasts. On north elevations, I favor higher noticeable transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames control here because they deal with 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 strengthened effectively, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have much better insulating values, but I prevent them for really large sliders or tall storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look stunning in older Mediterranean Revival homes, but they demand cautious upkeep and smart flashing. The Florida sun damages inexpensive vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum finishes quickly. Search for powder-coated surfaces rated for coastal direct exposure, and request written guarantee details in salt-air environments.
Window setup can make or break performance. An expensive unit installed like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's tension test. The load course is the core. Impact forces need 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 cinder block construction, you desire stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong product. Hollow cells should be grouted or you need to strike the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to happen. 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 simply visual. An appropriately sized backer rod and high-quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant produce a durable, versatile seal that handles thermal expansion. Too small a bead and it tears under movement. Too huge and it cures inadequately. On coastal tasks, I never pair dissimilar metals without a barrier, and I constantly define 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 crucial. If you depend 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 cyclone seasons later.
I have nothing against well-designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are maintained and lubed, roll-down shutters with battery backups, best impact windows Boca Raton and even detachable panels stored thoroughly can secure homes effectively. They likewise assist in particular cases.
Second homes or seasonal leasings where budget is tight sometimes lean on shutters to fulfill the Florida building code windows requirement for secured openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is rarely used in summertime, a tidy motorized roll-down can be reasonable, affordable Boca Raton impact windows especially if coupling with impact doors and windows elsewhere worries the spending plan. For homeowners who plan to move within a year, shutters can be a short bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring trade-offs. They darken your house when deployed, and they need action at precisely the time you are juggling insurance documents, gas cans, and household logistics. During Typhoon Irma, I watched a neighbor attempt to mount steel panels hours before landfall. The ladder sank in saturated soil, a panel slipped, and we spent the next hour in the urgent care waiting room. He survived with stitches. His living-room window did not. Shutters likewise rattle and can vibrate under sustained winds, in some cases loosening fasteners gradually if not maintained.
For long-lasting owners who want to set it and forget it, effect windows offer hurricane proof windows protection while protecting daylight and view. The convenience grows important once you have actually experienced one storm season with zero preparation beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes fight 2 battles: hidden load from humidity and practical load from direct solar heat gain. Impact glass upgrades can help both if specified intelligently.
Low-E impact glass utilizes microscopically thin metal layers to reflect infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the best covering stacks, you can block a big portion of radiant heat and UV. UV clog in laminated units comes mostly from the interlayer itself, which usually filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, decreasing fading of fabrics and floor covering. Include the low-E, and you curb the solar heat that drives your AC crazy midafternoon.
I examine glass specs with 3 numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still assists here by lowering nighttime heat circulation and keeping the interior glass temperature closer to space temperature, which lowers condensation threat. SHGC drives how much solar heat enters. VT affects how intense the interior feels. Balance is essential. Some property owners desire the crisp, clear look of higher VT, even if it indicates accepting a couple of degrees more heat in late afternoon, due to the fact that their landscaping and roofing system overhangs already do some shading. Others prefer a stronger tint for glare control on waterside lots that reflect extreme light.

In practical terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to modern-day low-E laminated double-glazed systems can decrease peak solar gains by 30 to half on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored outside finishes, and an effectively sized variable-speed heating and cooling, and you start to build durability. 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 Notice of Acceptance, or NOA, is the file you request for. It information the authorized setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures evaluated. It is not enough to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" best impact windows available in a showroom. Confirm the NOA matches the precise model and alternatives you are purchasing, consisting of the glazing makeup and hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your permitting workplace will desire this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Item Approval system offers FL numbers that show code compliance. In the rest of the state outside the High Speed Hurricane Zone, Florida building regulations windows can rely on Florida Item Approval without Miami-Dade particular NOAs. Many leading makers carry both. Where spending plans allow, I choose NOA products even outside the zone because the screening is stiffer.
NFRC labels handle energy metrics. They will not tell you impact efficiency, but they reveal U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leak. Go for air leak at or listed below 0.3 cfm/ft ². Tighter is much better for humidity control, however make certain 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 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 frequently land in between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for standard sizes. Big multi-panel sliders, custom arches, and coastal-grade surfaces raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recoup value:
If you prepare to own the home for five years or more, the mathematics frequently tilts in favor of impact windows, particularly when you factor the intangible of peace of mind. If you plan to sell within a year and require to show 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 patios. Look at the sill design on moving doors. Weep systems ought to be engineered to drain heavy rains without letting wind-driven water blow back in. Ask to see a cutaway sample in the showroom.
Tint colors and reflectivity are more than fashion. Reflective movies can run afoul of neighborhood associations or produce mirror-like glare toward surrounding properties. In coastal ecosystems, extremely reflective glass can puzzle birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Regional pros understand which finishings balance efficiency with compliance.
Color stability is a big deal. Dark bronze or black frames look wonderful on modern-day homes, however in Florida sun cheap finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated finishes supply the very best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for seaside exposures whenever spending plans allow.
Historic districts typically need profiles that simulate old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, but lead times lengthen and costs climb. Anticipate additional evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a contractor knowledgeable about these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations sometimes define a narrow list of approved products for uniformity. They also appreciate sound control between units. If your building sits directly on Collins Opportunity or faces a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated choices. Deal with structure management on staging and lift access. Weekend work windows and minimal parking can add days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, need special attention in style pressure, deflection, and running hardware. Not every unit that looks tough in a showroom fulfills the wind loads on a ninth-floor veranda. Do not depend on catalog maximum sizes. Use the NOA tables that represent your site's zone, positive and unfavorable pressures, and mullion mixes if any.
The finest projects start with a measured survey and direct exposure analysis. You map each opening, note 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 explains 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 safe and secure. They safeguard floors, pull back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames bring out care to maintain interior finishes. New units get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The team checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photo anchors for the license 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 documents in order.
Six months later on, your windows still close with two fingers, locks bite efficiently, and there is no secret rattle throughout thunderstorms. You did not need to call for a roller change after the very first week. That is the standard.
Impact rating does not equal breakproof. Laminated glass can crack under extreme effects, but it ought to stay in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends out debris into the glass, you might see star fractures or spidering. The window did its job. Replace the sash or IGU after the event.
Window movies do not transform non-impact windows into cyclone impact-resistant windows. They can include shatter resistance, but they do not alternative to a checked, anchored system. Your insurance provider and structure department will not count movies as safeguarded openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient effect windows reduce air leakage. That's great, however it increases the value of a properly sized a/c with excellent dehumidification. If your system is oversized, the thermostat pleases quickly and stops working to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your HVAC pro to inspect sensible heat ratio, air flow, and run time. You want consistent, longer cycles, not brief bursts.
Maintenance is uncomplicated however not optional. Clean weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lubricate hardware each year with a silicone-based item that will not gum up in heat. Small practices extend lifespan.
There are genuine reasons to mix solutions. A pair of rarely used garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave spending plan. A deep-set porch with minimal sun exposure may do fine with accordion shutters if you focus on other upgrades like a brand-new roofing system deck accessory or a prepared garage door. Shutters can also protect outside kitchens or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age expensive hardware prematurely.
If you choose shutters, buy quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with manual bypasses for roll-downs make a distinction. Designate obligation for release and practice when outside of a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you require 32 wing nuts is affordable hurricane proof windows not the morning you wish to discover you have 29.
Impact windows are not only about surviving the huge one. They improve daily living. The living room remains cooler and quieter. The a/c 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 hurricane threatens, your preparation list gets much shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and focus on people rather than panels.
For many of my customers, that intangible is the deciding aspect. They know storms will come. They also understand life in South Florida is too excellent to live inside a fortress that just awakens in August. Miami-Dade authorized windows offer 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 choice, begin with a site-specific evaluation. Match your direct exposures to design pressures, pick the best laminated glass stack for wind and heat, select frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and employ a crew that respects the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient impact windows deliver what shutters can not: protection that never ever requests for a ladder and a better home every day of the year.