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 next-door neighbors track tropical waves, the pre-storm rush to stock up, and the ritual of carrying ladders to mount panels. After twenty years defining, installing, and repairing building envelopes from Key Largo to Palm Beach, I've seen what holds up and what does not. When the goal is genuine defense with year-round comfort, Miami-Dade approved, energy‑efficient impact windows outshine shutters in ways that go beyond storm day. They alter 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 much faster than predicted.
This is a useful look at why lots of South Florida property owners are moving from shutters to cyclone impact-resistant windows, how to check out the standards behind "Miami-Dade approved," what materials matter, and how to get the setup right the first time.
Miami-Dade County's Product Control Division sets one of the most difficult criteria in the nation for building parts exposed to windborne debris. Approval is not a marketing sticker. It is earned through particular lab tests that mimic real cyclone conditions.
First comes large rocket impact. A 9-pound 2x4 is shot at the glass at approximately 34 miles per hour. That simulates roof tiles, branches, or pieces of fencing that fly in the eyewall. After the effect, the exact same unit deals with cyclic pressure loading, countless pressurization and depressurization cycles that simulate quick wind gusts over hours. If the glass stays in the frame without letting the envelope breach, it passes. The difference in between "meets Florida building code windows" and "Miami-Dade authorized windows" typically lives in these test thresholds. Miami-Dade is merely stiffer, especially in High Speed Hurricane Zone requirements, which include Miami-Dade and Broward.
Wind ratings differ by opening size and style pressures, signified as PSF values. On ocean-facing homes or high-rises, I frequently define units rated at +60/ -80 PSF or higher. Inland or in more safeguarded exposures, rankings in the +45/ -60 PSF variety can be sufficient, but you size and specification based on the website's wind map, constructing height, and surrounding structures. A professional knows that a corner direct exposure at the 2nd 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 satisfy code, and they're 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 projection 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 defense, even if a pop-up storm surprises you while you're stuck on United States 1. You likewise get benefits every day of the year.

Noise control is the most underappreciated benefit. Laminated effect glass is basically a sandwich: 2 panes of glass bonded by a resistant interlayer, usually PVB interlayer glass or SentryGlas. That interlayer damps sound. On jobs along busy corridors like Biscayne Boulevard or near flight courses, I have actually measured interior sound drops in the 5 to 10 decibel variety, sometimes more when coupled with insulated glass units.
Security enhances due to the fact that laminated glass resists 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 of a quick course inside. Insurance underwriters know this, which is why policies often provide credits for effect doors and windows. In my jobs, premiums normally drop 10 to 25 percent, depending on the carrier and how many openings are protected.

Energy efficiency is the 3rd pillar. Energy-efficient effect windows with contemporary low-E effect glass and warm-edge spacers can cut solar heat gain while maintaining noticeable light. That implies less air conditioning demand, particularly 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 effect units. Summer season afternoon peak load visited roughly a lots of cooling, and the home's annual electrical energy usage fell in between 12 and 18 percent. Outcomes differ with shading, attic insulation, and HVAC effectiveness, however the instructions is consistent.
Laminated effect glass is the heart of the system, but not all laminated products are equal.
Most residential hurricane windows utilize a PVB interlayer glass stack, typically 0.030 to 0.090 inches thick in single or multiple plies. Thicker interlayers enhance impact resistance and sound control, but they include weight and expense. For oceanfront or tall openings, you may see SGP (ionoplast) interlayers, which are stiffer and stronger than PVB, allowing thinner sections to accomplish higher design pressures. For noise-sensitive websites, acoustic PVB solutions tweak 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 discussions because tempered glass is stronger in bending than annealed glass. That's true, and tempered lites are frequently used as the external or inner ply in an impact system. But tempered alone is not impact-resistant in the typhoon sense. When it stops working, it takes off into little cubes and falls out of the frame, which leaves the opening susceptible. The effect efficiency originates from laminated building and construction, not tempering by itself. Lots of systems utilize a tempered external lite laminated to an annealed inner lite, or both tempered, but constantly bonded through a PVB or ionoplast interlayer.
Low-E finishings 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 variety while keeping noticeable light transmission around 50 percent or higher. Go too short on SHGC and the glass can look gray or green, especially in bigger openings. The sweet spot depends on your façade 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 lean toward greater visible transmittance for daylighting.
Frames are the other half of the story. Aluminum frames dominate here since they deal with large openings and won't swell. Thermal breaks and improved glazing gaskets have narrowed the energy gap with vinyl. High-quality vinyl impact frames, when enhanced correctly, can carry out well for standard-sized openings and have better insulating values, however I prevent them for extremely wide sliders or tall storefront-style windows in high-wind zones. Wood-clad units look lovely in older Mediterranean Revival homes, but they demand careful upkeep and wise flashing. The Florida sun damages inexpensive vinyl and chalks low-grade aluminum surfaces rapidly. Try to find powder-coated surfaces rated for seaside direct exposure, and demand written warranty details in salt-air environments.
Window setup can make or break performance. A costly system set up like a handyman swap-out will not pass a storm's stress test. The load path is the core. 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 cinder block building and construction, you want stainless or hot-dipped galvanized anchors embedded into strong product. Hollow cells must be grouted or you need to hit the bond beam. Tapcons in soft, unfilled block are a failure waiting to occur. In wood-framed homes, structural screws must bite into strong trimmers, not simply sheathing. Shimming and plumb positioning matter so the locks engage cleanly and the weatherstripping compresses evenly.
The sealant joint is not just aesthetic. A properly sized backer rod and high-quality polyurethane or silyl-modified polymer sealant develop a resilient, versatile seal that handles thermal expansion. Too little a bead and it tears under movement. Too big and it remedies inadequately. On coastal jobs, I never ever combine dissimilar metals without a barrier, and I constantly define 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 combination with the water-resistive barrier are crucial. If you rely on sealant alone, water will discover its method. That wetness might not show up as a drip. It may rot a sill plate slowly, then betray itself as a buckling floor or a moldy smell 2 hurricane seasons later.
I have nothing versus well-designed shutters. Accordion shutters that are preserved and oiled, roll-down shutters with battery backups, and even removable panels kept thoroughly can secure homes successfully. They likewise assist in certain cases.
Second homes or seasonal leasings where budget is tight in some cases lean on shutters to fulfill the Florida building code windows requirement for protected openings. On specialized openings like a lanai that is rarely utilized in summer, a clean motorized roll-down can be affordable, especially if pairing with effect windows and doors somewhere else worries the budget. For homeowners who plan to move within aluminum impact doors a year, shutters can be a short bridge to compliance before a sale.
But shutters bring trade-offs. They darken your house when released, and they need action at specifically the time you are juggling insurance coverage papers, gas cans, and household logistics. During Typhoon Irma, I watched 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 urgent care waiting space. He survived with stitches. His living room window did not. Shutters likewise rattle and can vibrate under sustained winds, in some cases loosening fasteners over time if not maintained.
For long-term owners who wish to set it and forget it, effect windows give typhoon proof windows coverage while maintaining daytime and view. The convenience grows important once you have actually experienced one storm season with zero prep beyond locking the sash.
South Florida homes fight two battles: hidden load from humidity and practical load from direct solar heat gain. Effect glass upgrades can assist both if specified intelligently.
Low-E effect glass utilizes microscopically thin metallic layers to show infrared energy while letting visible light through. With the ideal finishing stacks, you can obstruct a big part of radiant heat and UV. UV blockage in laminated systems comes largely from the interlayer itself, which normally filters 95 to 99 percent of UV, lowering fading of fabrics and floor covering. Include the low-E, and you suppress the solar heat that drives your air conditioner insane midafternoon.
I assess glass specifications with 3 numbers: U-factor, SHGC, and VT. While U-factor matters more up north, it still helps here by minimizing nighttime heat flow and keeping the interior glass temperature closer to space temperature, which decreases condensation danger. SHGC drives how much solar heat goes into. VT affects how bright the interior feels. Balance is crucial. Some house owners want the crisp, clear look of greater VT, even if it means accepting a few degrees more heat in late afternoon, since their landscaping and roof overhangs already do some shading. Others choose a stronger tint for glare control on waterfront lots that reflect harsh light.
In useful terms, going from clear single-pane sliders to contemporary low-E laminated double-glazed units can decrease peak solar gains by 30 to half on the most exposed sides. Couple that with tuned overhangs, light-colored exterior surfaces, and an effectively sized variable-speed HVAC, and you begin to build strength. If the grid goes down and you change to a generator, a lower cooling load indicates a smaller generator and less gallons of fuel.
Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance, or NOA, is the document you ask for. It information the approved setups, sizes, anchors, and pressures tested. It is not enough to hear "these are Miami-Dade authorized windows" in a display room. Verify the NOA matches the specific model and options you are purchasing, including the glazing makeup and hardware. If you remain in Broward or Miami-Dade, your permitting workplace will desire this paper trail.
Statewide, the Florida Product Approval system offers FL numbers that show code compliance. In the rest of the state outside the High Speed Cyclone Zone, Florida building regulations windows can depend on Florida Product Approval without Miami-Dade specific NOAs. Many leading makers bring both. Where spending plans allow, I prefer NOA products even outside the zone because the screening is stiffer.
NFRC labels handle energy metrics. They will not inform you impact efficiency, but they show U-factor, SHGC, VT, and air leakage. Go for air leak at or listed below 0.3 cfm/ft ². Tighter is better for humidity control, but ensure your home still has balanced 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 expenses differ with size, shape, surface, and gain access to. On straightforward single-family homes, per-opening costs often land in between 1,200 and 3,000 dollars for standard sizes. Large multi-panel sliders, customized arches, and coastal-grade surfaces raise the numbers quickly.
Where you recoup worth:
If you prepare to own the property for 5 years or more, the mathematics often tilts in favor of impact windows, especially when you factor the intangible of assurance. If you plan to offer within a year and need to reveal compliance quickly, shutters might make more short-term sense. Context matters.
I focus on hardware and devices. Multi-point locks on casements and awnings enhance 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 design on sliding doors. Weep systems must be crafted to drain pipes heavy rainfall without letting wind-driven water blow back in. Ask to see a cutaway sample in the showroom.
Tint colors and reflectivity are more than fashion. Reflective films can contravene of neighborhood watch or produce mirror-like glare toward neighboring properties. In seaside ecosystems, highly reflective glass can puzzle birds or sea turtles in some jurisdictions. Local pros know which coverings balance performance with compliance.
Color stability is a big offer. Dark bronze or black frames look great on contemporary homes, however in Florida sun inexpensive finishes chalk and fade. AAMA 2605-rated coverings offer the best color retention and chalk resistance. I define them for coastal direct exposures whenever budgets allow.
Historic districts typically need profiles that simulate old wood sash sightlines. There are impact-rated windows that fit these requirements, however lead times extend and costs climb. Expect additional evaluation by architectural boards, and line up a specialist familiar 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 between systems. If your structure sits directly on Collins Opportunity or deals with a busy beach boardwalk, push for acoustic laminated choices. Work with building management on staging and lift gain access to. Weekend work windows and restricted parking can include days and dollars.
Large openings, like a 16-foot-wide slider, require unique attention in style pressure, deflection, and operating hardware. Not every unit that looks durable in a showroom satisfies the wind loads on a ninth-floor balcony. Do not count on brochure optimum sizes. Use the NOA tables that correspond to your site's zone, positive and negative pressures, and mullion combinations if any.
The best tasks start with a measured study and direct exposure analysis. You map each opening, note the substrate, and recognize any framing irregularities or settlement fractures. During proposition, the contractor reveals you the NOA and the Florida Item Approval, lists anchor types, and discusses 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. They protect floorings, draw back window treatments, and cap sprinklers. Old frames come out with care to protect interior finishes. New units get dry-fit, shimmed, and anchored per the schedule. The team checks squareness and diagonals before setting sealant. They picture anchors for the permit file, especially if they will be hidden. After glazing, they water-test with a controlled spray to verify drain paths and seals. The inspector sees a cool jobsite, clear labels, and paperwork in order.
Six months later on, your windows still close with two fingers, locks bite efficiently, and there is no mystery rattle throughout thunderstorms. You did not need to call for a roller change after the first week. That is the standard.
Impact rating does not equivalent breakproof. Laminated glass can crack under extreme effects, however it ought to remain in the frame and hold together. After a storm that sends out particles into the glass, you may see star fractures or spidering. The window did its job. Change the sash or IGU after the event.
Window films do not convert non-impact windows into hurricane impact-resistant windows. They can add shatter resistance, however they do not substitute for a checked, anchored system. Your insurance company and structure department will not count films as safeguarded openings.
Interior humidity matters. Tight, energy-efficient impact windows reduce air leakage. That's excellent, however it increases the importance of a correctly sized a/c with great 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 check sensible heat ratio, airflow, and run time. You desire stable, longer cycles, not short bursts.

Maintenance is straightforward but not optional. Clean weep holes on sliders, wash salt spray from frames, and lube hardware yearly with a silicone-based item that will not gum up in heat. Little routines extend lifespan.
There are legitimate factors to blend solutions. A set of seldom used garage windows can keep removable panels to shave spending plan. A deep-set patio with minimal sun direct exposure may do great with accordion shutters if you prioritize other upgrades like a new roofing system deck attachment or a fortified garage door. Shutters can likewise secure outdoor cooking areas or cabana openings where grease and smoke would age fancy hardware prematurely.
If you pick shutters, purchase quality. Stainless fasteners, smooth tracks, and motors with manual overrides for roll-downs make a distinction. Appoint duty for release and practice when beyond a storm watch. Inventory your hardware. The day you require 32 wing nuts is not the early morning you wish to discover you have 29.
Impact windows are not only about making it through the huge one. They improve daily living. The living-room stays cooler and quieter. The air conditioner 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 focus on individuals rather than panels.
For a number of my customers, that intangible is the deciding aspect. They know storms will come. They likewise understand 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 early morning and quiet confidence when the spaghetti designs point our method September.
If you are weighing the choice, begin with a site-specific assessment. Match your direct exposures to design pressures, select the right laminated glass stack for wind and heat, select frames that fit the architecture and conditions, and work with a crew that respects the load path. Done right, energy‑efficient effect windows provide what shutters can not: protection that never ever asks for a ladder and a much better home every day of the year.