Impact Doors in West Palm Beach, FL
Impact Sliding Glass Doors
Impact French & Entry Doors
Multi-Slide & Pocket Systems
Martin · Palm Beach · Broward · Miami-Dade
Licensed & insured
Florida license SCC131154568, shown on every proposal we write.
Four county coverage
Martin, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade, installed from our West Palm Beach shop.
ES Windows, CWS & BHI dealer
Direct dealer accounts for the door systems we order, install and service.
Permits and inspections
We prepare the permit package, attach the approvals and meet the inspector.
Four reasons the doors come first
Protection that stays put
Laminated impact glass in a rated frame, tested to ASTM E1886 and E1996 for large missile impact. No panels to carry from the garage, nothing to bolt on when a storm is named.
Bigger openings, more light
Sliding and multi-slide systems reach widths ordinary doors never could. More glass, thinner frames, and a living room that ends at the pool instead of at a wall.
Everyday security
The laminated interlayer keeps the glass in the frame even when it breaks, and multi-point locks anchor the panel at several heights instead of one latch.
Comfort and efficiency
Low-E coatings and insulated laminated glass are designed to reduce heat transfer through the largest glass areas of the house, which is where most of it happens.
Three Florida door lines, one accountable installer
ES Windows
CWS
BHI Doors
Doing the doors? Finish the whole house
Standard mirrors
Standard showers
The biggest openings in the house need the strongest assembly
The door systems we install
Sliding glass doors
Two, three and four panel sliders for the standard patio opening. The straight replacement for the aluminum doors most South Florida homes still run on their original tracks.
Multi-slide and pocket doors
Panels that stack behind one another or disappear into the wall. The system that opens a whole elevation to the lanai when the structure above can carry it.
French doors
Hinged pairs with laminated glass, inswing or outswing. The traditional look for Mediterranean and transitional homes, with multi-point locking as standard.
Entry doors
Impact rated front doors with laminated glass, full or partial lites, sidelites and transoms, hung on frames anchored for coastal wind loads.
Pivot doors
Oversized single leaves that rotate on a floor and head pivot instead of side hinges. An entrance statement that still carries an impact rating as one engineered assembly.
Residential storefront systems
Aluminum storefront framing adapted to the modern home: fixed glass walls, corner glazing and entrance systems from the commercial side of our shop.
Eight steps from first measure to close-out
Free on-site consultation
Written proposal
Final field measure
Shop drawings and order
Permit package
Installation
Inspection
Close-out documents
Setting a slider is a two person job
Your old slider against an impact rated door
Standard sliding glass door
- Single pane of tempered glass in a light frame
- Needs shutters or panels bolted on before a storm
- Rollers and tracks worn by years of sand and salt
- One latch lock at a single point on the jamb
- Glass falls away once it breaks
- Nothing on file if a permit or a buyer asks
- Original anchors, unknown design pressure
Impact rated door system
- Laminated glass bonded to an interlayer, always in place
- Nothing to install when a storm is named
- New rollers, tracks and sill engineered for the panel weight
- Multi-point locking along the height of the panel
- Glass designed to stay in the frame even when broken
- Closed permit and approval numbers on file
- Frame, panels and anchors approved as one assembly
Glass, frame and hardware options
Glass
- Clear laminated impact glass
- Low-E coatings for solar heat control
- Gray and bronze tinted glass
- Obscure and satin privacy glass
- Insulated laminated units
- Low-iron ultra clear glass
Frames and hardware
- Aluminum frames for the largest spans
- Vinyl frames for thermal value
- White, bronze and black finishes
- Raised, low-profile and pocket sill options
- Multi-point locks and keyed hardware
- Screens for operable panels
A slider is the biggest piece of glass in the house, so the coating matters most here
A window is a few square feet. A three panel slider is a wall. Whatever the glass does about heat, it does across the largest uninterrupted area in the house, and that area is usually pointed at the thing you bought the house for: the water, the pool, the view. Which in South Florida generally means east or west, the two hardest exposures there are.
The number that governs it is the solar heat gain coefficient, the share of the sun’s energy that gets through. Impact rating and solar control are two different decisions made on the same piece of glass. The rating is what keeps the opening closed in a storm. The coating is what keeps the room usable in August.
| Glass | Visible light | Solar heat gain | Light to solar gain | Under the 45% turtle threshold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solarban 60 with clear | 70% | 0.39 | 1.79 | No |
| Solarban 70XL with clear | 64% | 0.27 | 2.37 | No |
| Solarbronze with Solarban 70XL | 38% | 0.26 | 1.46 | Yes |
| Solargray with Solarban 70XL | 32% | 0.24 | 1.33 | Yes |
Solarban is made by Vitro Architectural Glass, formerly PPG. These are Vitro’s published figures for a one inch insulating unit with a half inch airspace and two quarter inch lites. Most of what we install is nine sixteenths laminated impact, which is a different buildup and carries different numbers. We give you the figures for the exact glass on your quote, not these.
Doors on the beach have a tint requirement
Florida’s model lighting ordinance for marine turtle protection, Rule 62B-55 of the Florida Administrative Code, defines tinted glass as glass with an inside to outside light transmittance of 45 percent or less, and the coastal construction section of the Florida Building Code points at the same standard. It applies where interior light is visible from the nesting beach.
In Palm Beach County the requirement sits in the Unified Land Development Code and Environmental Resources Management enforces it, with nesting season running March 1 through October 31. Martin, Broward and Miami-Dade each have their own ordinance, and individual coastal towns can be stricter than the county. The building department with jurisdiction has the last word, so we confirm the number with them before the glass is released.
The part that rarely gets said out loud: the gray that puts you under 45 percent is the same coated product, and it cuts the solar heat gain at the same time. Solargray with Solarban 70XL reads 32 percent visible light and 0.24 solar heat gain, against 64 percent and 0.27 for the clear version. On the beach the turtle rule and the power bill pull in the same direction.
What we will not tell you
We are not going to quote you a percentage off your power bill. On a door it depends on the exposure, the overhang above it, how much of the wall is glass and how the house is run. Anyone who gives you a firm percentage before seeing the opening is guessing.
What we will do is put the exact glass on the quote with the number it carries. On a door that size, it is worth asking for.
Impact doors across South Florida
What you are holding when we drive away
A permit that is closed, not just pulled
An approval number for every door
Impact door FAQ
Can I replace just the doors, or should I do windows and doors together?
You can do either. Many owners start with the doors because they are the biggest openings and the oldest hardware in the house. If you plan to do both eventually, one combined permit saves a second permit fee, a second inspection and a second round of stucco and paint touch-ups, and the wind permit file ends up covering every opening at once. We quote it both ways so you can compare.
Do impact doors replace hurricane shutters?
On the openings they protect, yes. An impact rated door is permanent opening protection, so the panels and tracks on that opening are no longer needed. If other openings in the house still have non-impact glass, keep their protection in place until they are upgraded. Your building department and your insurer both look at the whole envelope, not one door.
How big can a sliding or multi-slide opening be?
Bigger than most people expect. Multi-panel and pocket systems reach opening widths a standard slider never could, and the exact limit depends on the series, the design pressure your elevation needs and the structure above the opening. Very large spans sometimes call for a structural review of the header, and we coordinate that as part of the job instead of leaving it to you.
What is a design pressure rating, and why does it matter more on doors?
Design pressure, or DP, is the wind load the assembly is tested to carry, positive and negative, measured in pounds per square foot. The load grows with the size of the opening, and doors are the largest openings in the house, so the anchoring schedule, the interlocks between panels and the sill matter as much as the glass. A big DP number in a brochure means nothing unless the frame, anchors and hardware are part of the same approval, which is why we always specify the complete assembly and put the numbers on your proposal.
Will a low threshold leak in heavy rain?
Water performance is part of the product approval, and the sill is where the tradeoff lives. A raised sill gives the highest water infiltration rating. A low-profile or flush sill walks easier and looks cleaner, but it gives up part of that rating. The right answer depends on how exposed that side of the house is, whether the opening sits under a roof overhang and how the patio drains. We walk you through the honest difference on your opening before you choose.
Do I need a permit to replace exterior doors?
Yes. Exterior door replacement is permitted work in all four counties we serve, and the application includes the product approval for the exact door being installed. We prepare the package, submit it and meet the inspector at the end. An unpermitted door follows the house to closing and to your insurer, so if someone offers to skip that step, walk away.
How much do impact doors cost?
The system drives the price more than anything else. A two panel slider, a four panel pocket system and a glass pivot entry are three very different jobs, and size, glass package, sill choice and structural work move the number further. We do not publish ranges we would have to walk back. We measure the openings, specify each one and give you one firm written price that includes product, permit, installation and cleanup. The estimate is free and there is no obligation.
Doing the windows too?
Open the house up. Lock the storm out.
- 7830 Byron Dr Ste 4, West Palm Beach, FL 33404
- (561) 584-8485 · Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm
- [email protected]
- Licensed and insured, FL SCC131154568