STS Impact Windows, Doors & Roofing is a veteran-owned company based in South Florida that specializes in premium hurricane protection solutions, including impact windows, doors, custom storefronts, and roofing. Combining over 25 years of industry experience with military precision, STS provides expert installation, full transparency, and outstanding customer service, backed by a leading 3-year installation warranty. Their comprehensive services ensure security and peace of mind for both residential and commercial clients, with a strong focus on quality, reliability, and efficiency.
View on Google MapsSTS Impact Windows and Doors specializes in hurricane protection solutions, offering high-quality impact windows, storm-resistant doors, custom storefronts, and professional roofing services. With expert installation, full transparency, and outstanding customer service, the company ensures homes and businesses stay secure and energy-efficient.
STS Impact Windows and Doors is located at 1000 Holland Dr Suite 10, Boca Raton, FL 33487, United States. The company proudly serves residential and commercial clients across Florida and throughout the United States, delivering reliable storm protection solutions. View their location on Google Maps.
Yes, STS Impact Windows and Doors is a veteran-owned company recognized for its dedication, integrity, and service to the community. This background adds an extra level of trust and reliability for homeowners and businesses seeking storm protection solutions.
STS Impact Windows and Doors provides a wide range of services including the installation of hurricane impact windows, impact doors, custom commercial storefronts, and roofing services. Each project is backed by expert craftsmanship, a 3-year installation warranty, and over 25 years of industry experience.
The company proudly serves both residential homeowners and commercial property owners. From protecting family homes to fortifying businesses with hurricane-rated storefronts, STS Impact Windows and Doors delivers customized solutions that ensure safety, durability, and efficiency.
Clients benefit from the company’s focus on quality, reliability, and efficiency. Their impact-resistant windows and doors not only enhance security and hurricane protection but also improve energy efficiency, reduce noise, and increase property value. With a 3-year installation warranty, customers can trust in long-term performance and peace of mind.
STS Impact Windows and Doors has been recognized with multiple industry honors, including the South Florida Veteran Owned Business Excellence Award, Best Hurricane Protection Provider 2023 Florida, and the Angi’s Super Service Award for Window Installation. These awards highlight their commitment to excellence, customer satisfaction, and industry leadership.
You can reach STS Impact Windows and Doors by phone at 561-600-1018 or visit their website at stswindows.com. They are open Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm and are available on Facebook and Instagram for updates and project showcases.
Business Name: STS Impact Windows & Doors
Address: 1000 Holland Dr #10, Boca Raton, FL 33487, United States
Phone: (561)-600-1018
Hurricane season shapes life along Florida's coasts. You feel it in the method next-door neighbors track tropical waves, the pre-storm rush to stockpile, and the routine of carrying ladders to install panels. After 20 years specifying, setting up, and fixing structure envelopes from Key Largo to Palm Beach, I've seen what holds up and what doesn't. When the goal is real defense with year-round convenience, Miami-Dade approved, energy‑efficient effect windows exceed shutters in manner ins which surpass storm day. They change how a home feels in August, how quiet your living room remains on a Saturday night, and how positive you are when a storm line spins up quicker than predicted.
This is a practical look at why many South Florida homeowners are moving from shutters to typhoon impact-resistant windows, how to check out the requirements behind "Miami-Dade authorized," what products matter, and how to get the installation right the very first time.

Miami-Dade County's Product Control Division sets one of the most difficult benchmarks in the nation for developing elements exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is made through particular laboratory tests that replicate real cyclone conditions.
First comes large missile effect. A 9-pound 2x4 is contended the glass at approximately 34 miles per hour. That imitates roof tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the impact, the same unit faces cyclic pressure loading, thousands of 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 distinction between "satisfies Florida building code windows" and "Miami-Dade approved windows" frequently lives in these test thresholds. Miami-Dade is merely stiffer, particularly in High Velocity Cyclone Zone requirements, that include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind ratings differ by opening size and design pressures, signified as PSF values. On ocean-facing properties or high-rises, I often specify systems ranked at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more secured exposures, ratings in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can suffice, but you size and specification based on the website's wind map, building height, and surrounding structures. An expert knows that a corner exposure at the second story needs different support than a protected window under a deep porch.
Hurricane shutters vs effect windows is not a one-to-one contrast. 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 warning and the forecast track tightens up, the last thing you want is a ladder, a dead cordless drill, and a missing wing nut.
Impact windows live in location. You get constant protection, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on US 1. You also get benefits every day of the year.
Noise control is the most underappreciated benefit. Laminated effect glass is essentially a sandwich: two panes of glass bonded by a resilient interlayer, normally PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps sound. On jobs along hectic passages like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight courses, I've measured interior sound drops in the 5 to 10 decibel range, often more when coupled with insulated glass units.
Security improves due to the fact that laminated glass withstands required entry. A burglar can shatter the external lite with a hammer, but the interlayer holds the fragments. They meet a sticky, stubborn membrane rather of a quick path inside. Insurance underwriters understand this, which is why policies often offer credits for impact windows and doors. In my tasks, premiums normally drop 10 to 25 percent, depending upon the provider and how many openings are protected.
Energy efficiency is the third 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 means less cooling need, specifically on west and south exposures where the afternoon sun penalizes interiors. In one Coral Gables retrofit, we changed 1980s single-pane sliders with laminated low-E effect systems. Summer season afternoon peak load come by roughly a ton of cooling, and the home's annual electrical power usage fell in between 12 and 18 percent. Outcomes vary with shading, attic insulation, and heating and cooling efficiency, but the direction is consistent.
Laminated impact glass is the heart of the system, however not all laminated products are equal.
Most property hurricane windows utilize a PVB interlayer glass stack, frequently 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or numerous plies. Thicker interlayers improve effect resistance and sound control, but they add weight and expense. For oceanfront or tall openings, you might see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, allowing thinner sections to local hurricane proof windows accomplish higher design pressures. For noise-sensitive sites, acoustic PVB solutions modify the polymer to better absorb sound in the 1,000 to 3,000 Hz range, where traffic and voices sit.
Tempered glass windows turn up frequently in conversations since tempered glass is stronger in flexing than annealed glass. That holds true, and tempered lites are typically used as the outer or inner ply in an effect unit. However tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the hurricane sense. When it stops working, it takes off into little cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening vulnerable. The impact efficiency comes from laminated building and construction, not tempering by itself. Lots of systems use a tempered external lite laminated to a hardened inner lite, or both tempered, but always bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E finishings matter for comfort. A soft-coat low-E tuned for South Florida normally targets a solar heat gain coefficient in the 0.25 to 0.35 range while keeping noticeable light transmission around half or greater. Go too low on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, particularly in bigger openings. The sweet spot depends on your exterior orientation and shading. On east and west elevations, I typically tighten SHGC and accept a small tint to manage early 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 dominate here due to the fact that they deal with big openings and will not swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have actually narrowed the energy space with vinyl. High-quality vinyl impact frames, when reinforced correctly, can perform well for standard-sized openings and have better insulating values, but I prevent them for extremely large sliders or tall storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad systems look beautiful in older Mediterranean Revival homes, but they require careful maintenance and clever flashing. The Florida sun damages cheap vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum surfaces quickly. Look for powder-coated surfaces rated for coastal direct exposure, and request composed warranty details in salt-air environments.
Window setup can make or break performance. A pricey system set up like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's tension test. The load path is the core. Impact forces have to take a trip from the glass through the frame, to the anchors, into the substrate, and then into the structure's framing or masonry.
In cinder block building, you desire stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into solid material. Hollow cells should be grouted or you require to strike the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to take place. In wood-framed houses, structural screws need to bite into strong trimmers, not just sheathing. Shimming and plumb alignment matter so the locks engage easily 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 growth. Too little a bead and it tears under motion. Too huge and it cures badly. On seaside tasks, I never match different metals without a barrier, and I always specify corrosion-resistant fasteners. 10 years later, you will see who took shortcuts.
Flashing is the other non-negotiable. Pan flashing at sills, self-adhered membranes at jambs and heads, and integration with the water-resistive barrier are vital. If you rely on sealant alone, water will find its method. That moisture might disappoint up as a drip. It might 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 kept and lubed, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even detachable panels saved carefully can protect homes successfully. They also assist in certain cases.
Second homes or seasonal leasings where budget plan is tight sometimes lean on shutters to meet the Florida building code windows requirement for safeguarded openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is rarely utilized in summer season, a clean motorized roll-down can be affordable, particularly if pairing with impact windows and doors elsewhere stresses the spending plan. For house owners who prepare to move within a year, shutters can be a brief bridge to compliance before a sale.

But shutters bring trade-offs. They darken the house when released, and they require action at exactly the time you are juggling insurance coverage documents, gas cans, and family logistics. Throughout Cyclone Irma, I saw a neighbor try 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 made it through with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters likewise rattle and can vibrate under sustained winds, in some cases loosening fasteners in time if not maintained.
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For long-lasting owners who wish to set it and forget it, effect windows provide hurricane evidence windows coverage while maintaining daylight and view. The convenience grows important once you've experienced one storm season with no preparation beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes fight two fights: hidden load from humidity and sensible load from direct solar heat gain. Impact glass upgrades can help both if specified intelligently.
Low-E effect glass utilizes microscopically thin metal layers to reflect infrared energy while letting noticeable light through. With the ideal finishing stacks, you can block a large part of convected heat and UV. UV obstruction in laminated systems comes mainly from the interlayer itself, which usually filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, minimizing fading of materials and floor covering. Add the low-E, and you curb the solar heat that drives your air conditioner insane midafternoon.
I assess glass specifications with three numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still helps here by reducing nighttime heat flow and keeping the interior glass temperature closer to room temperature level, which minimizes condensation danger. SHGC drives how much solar heat enters. VT influences how intense the interior feels. Balance is key. Some homeowners want the crisp, clear look of higher VT, even if it indicates accepting a few degrees more heat in late afternoon, since their landscaping and roof overhangs already do some shading. Others prefer a more powerful tint for glare control on waterfront lots that show extreme light.
In practical terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to modern low-E laminated double-glazed units can minimize peak solar gains by 30 to 50 percent on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored exterior surfaces, and a properly sized variable-speed heating and cooling, and you begin to develop strength. If the grid goes down and you switch to a generator, a lower cooling load implies a smaller generator and less gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notification of Acceptance, or NOA, is the document you ask for. It details the authorized setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures checked. It is not enough to hear "these are Miami-Dade approved windows" in a showroom. Validate the NOA matches the specific model and choices you are buying, including the glazing makeup and hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your allowing office will desire this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Product Approval system supplies FL numbers that show code compliance. In the rest of the state outside the High Speed Cyclone Zone, Florida building regulations windows can rely on Florida Product Approval without Miami-Dade particular NOAs. Many top makers bring both. Where budgets allow, I choose NOA products even outside the zone due to the fact that the testing is stiffer.
NFRC labels deal with energy metrics. They won't inform you effect efficiency, but they reveal U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leakage. Go for air leakage at or below 0.3 cfm/ft ². Tighter is much better for humidity control, but make sure your home still has actually stabilized ventilation. Sealing the envelope and neglecting fresh air is a dish for indoor air quality complaints.
Impact windows cost more in advance than shutters. There's no spin around that. Set up costs vary with size, shape, finish, 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. Big multi-panel sliders, custom arches, and coastal-grade surfaces raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recover value:
If you plan to own the residential or commercial property for five years or more, the mathematics typically tilts in favor of effect windows, particularly when you factor the intangible of assurance. If you prepare to sell within a year and need to reveal compliance quickly, shutters may make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I pay attention to hardware and accessories. Multi-point locks on sashes and awnings improve seal compression and security. For sliders, robust tandem rollers in stainless real estates move smoother and last longer on sandy outdoor patios. Look at the sill style on sliding doors. Weep systems should 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 films can contravene of neighborhood watch or produce mirror-like glare toward neighboring residential or commercial properties. In seaside environments, extremely reflective glass can confuse birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Local pros understand which coverings balance efficiency with compliance.
Color stability is a huge offer. Dark bronze or black frames look wonderful on modern homes, but in Florida sun cheap surfaces chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coverings provide the best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for seaside direct exposures whenever budget plans allow.
Historic districts typically need profiles that mimic old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, but lead times extend and costs climb. Expect extra review by architectural boards, and line up a specialist acquainted with these submissions.
Condos have another layer of governance. Associations often define a narrow list of authorized items for uniformity. They also care about noise control in between units. If your structure sits directly on Collins Avenue 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 restricted parking can add days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, need special attention in design pressure, deflection, and running hardware. Not every unit that looks sturdy in a showroom meets the wind loads on a ninth-floor terrace. Do not rely on catalog maximum sizes. Use the NOA tables that represent your website's zone, favorable and negative pressures, and mullion mixes if any.
The finest jobs start with a measured study and direct exposure analysis. You map each opening, note the substrate, and identify any framing irregularities or settlement fractures. During proposition, the contractor reveals you the NOA and the Florida Product Approval, notes anchor types, and discusses how each opening will be flashed and sealed. They prepare for stucco or drywall repairs, not pretend no damage will occur.
On set up day, they eliminate one opening at a time to keep your home secure. They secure floorings, draw back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames bring out care to maintain interior finishes. New systems get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The crew checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They photograph anchors for the authorization file, specifically if they will be hidden. After glazing, they water-test with a controlled spray to confirm drainage 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 smoothly, 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 score does not equal breakproof. Laminated glass can break under extreme effects, however it ought 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 task. Replace the sash or IGU after the event.
Window movies do not convert non-impact windows into cyclone impact-resistant windows. They can add shatter resistance, but they do not substitute for an evaluated, anchored system. Your insurer and building department will not count movies as secured openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient impact windows decrease air leak. That's fantastic, but it increases the importance of a correctly sized HVAC with great dehumidification. If your system is oversized, the thermostat satisfies rapidly and fails to pull enough moisture from the air. Ask your heating and cooling pro to check sensible heat ratio, air flow, and run time. You desire constant, longer cycles, not brief bursts.
Maintenance is simple however not optional. Tidy weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lubricate hardware yearly with a silicone-based product that will not gum up in heat. Little habits extend lifespan.
There are legitimate factors to blend options. A set of seldom utilized garage windows can keep detachable panels to shave budget. A deep-set porch with very little sun direct exposure might do fine with accordion shutters if you focus on other upgrades like a new roofing deck attachment or a prepared garage door. Shutters can likewise secure outside kitchens or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age expensive hardware prematurely.
If you choose shutters, purchase quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with handbook overrides for roll-downs make a difference. Appoint responsibility for release and practice when beyond a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you require 32 wing nuts is not the morning you wish to find you have 29.
Impact windows are not just about making it through the big one. They reshape daily living. The living-room remains cooler and quieter. The air conditioning cycles calmly rather of racing at 4 p.m. You sleep without freight trains of wind noise when a squall line passes at 2 a.m. When a cyclone threatens, your preparation list gets much shorter. You lock the sashes, set storm mode on the alarm, and focus on individuals rather than panels.
For much of my clients, that intangible is the choosing aspect. They understand storms will come. They also know life in South Florida is too excellent to live inside a fortress that just awakens in August. Miami-Dade approved 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 way in September.
If you are weighing the option, start with a site-specific assessment. Match your direct exposures to develop pressures, choose the right laminated glass stack for wind and heat, choose frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and work with a crew that respects the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient impact windows provide what shutters can not: security that never ever asks for a ladder and a better home every day of the year.