Impact Windows in West Palm Beach, FL
Impact Windows
Impact Doors
ES Windows & CWS Dealer
Palm Beach · Broward · Miami-Dade
Licensed & insured
Florida license SCC131154568.
Martin to Miami-Dade
Four counties: Martin, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade, from our West Palm Beach shop.
Dealer of ES Windows & CWS
Two Florida manufacturers we buy from, install and service directly.
Permits handled
We pull the permit, meet the inspector and hand you the paperwork.
Four reasons South Florida homeowners switch
Maximum protection
Laminated impact glass and rated frames, tested to ASTM E1886 and E1996 for large missile impact. The assembly is approved as a unit, glass, frame and anchors together.
Noise reduction
The laminated interlayer is designed to help reduce noise transmission from traffic, landscaping crews and neighbors. Most owners notice it the first morning.
Energy efficiency
Low-E coatings and insulated units are designed to reduce heat transfer compared with the older single pane aluminum windows most South Florida homes still have.
Modern design
Narrower frames, bigger glass and cleaner sightlines. You get more daylight and a façade that reads current instead of 1985.
Proud dealers of ES Windows and CWS
ES Windows
CWS
Complete your upgrade and enjoy more
Standard mirrors
Standard showers
Every home in South Florida needs opening protection
The window types we install
Single hung
The workhorse of Florida replacement work. The bottom sash slides up. Best value per opening and the easiest to fit into an existing block opening.
Horizontal roller
Sashes slide side to side. Ideal when the opening is wider than it is tall, which covers most bedrooms and living rooms built after 1970.
Casement
Cranks outward on a hinge and seals against the frame when closed. The tightest seal of the group and the best choice for catching a cross breeze.
Awning
Hinged at the top, opens outward at the bottom. You can leave it open in the rain, which is why it works over kitchen sinks, in bathrooms and high on a wall.
Picture and fixed
Does not open, so it gives you the largest glass area and the thinnest frame. Used for views and to fill the big openings between operable units.
Architectural shapes
Arches, half rounds, trapezoids and radius tops. Custom fabricated to the opening so a Mediterranean or transitional elevation keeps its lines.
From first measure to a closed permit
Free on-site consultation
Written proposal
Final field measure
Shop drawings and order
Permit package
Installation
Inspection
Close-out documents
What the install day actually looks like
What actually changes when you replace the glass
Standard single pane window
- One pane of annealed or tempered glass
- Needs shutters or panels installed before a storm
- Somebody has to be home to close it up
- Traffic and yard noise come straight through
- Little control over solar heat gain
- No approval paperwork for the existing units
- Frames and anchors often original to the house
Impact rated window
- Laminated glass bonded to an interlayer, always in place
- Nothing to install when a storm is named
- Protection works whether you are home or not
- Designed to help reduce noise transmission
- Low-E and tinted options control solar heat gain
- Approval numbers documented for every unit
- New frames and anchors, engineered as one assembly
Glass and frame options
Glass
- Clear laminated impact glass
- Low-E coatings for solar heat control
- Gray and bronze tints
- Low-iron for the truest color
- Obscure and satin for bathrooms
- Laminated insulated units
Frames
- Aluminum for maximum glass area
- Vinyl for thermal performance and value
- White, bronze, black and bright finishes
- Custom colors on request
- Flange and finless installation profiles
- Screens on every operable unit
The coating decides the cooling bill. The tint decides whether you pass on the beach.
Impact glass is laminated: two lites bonded to an interlayer. That is what makes it strong, and it is the same whether the window faces the water or the driveway. How much heat comes through it is a separate choice, and it is the one that shows up on your power bill.
The number to look at is the solar heat gain coefficient. It is the share of the sun’s energy that makes it through the glass. In South Florida it matters more than the insulation value most people ask about, because the load on a house here is cooling, not heating. Lower solar heat gain means less heat landing in the room and less work for the air handler, every afternoon, for the life of the glass.
| 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.
If the house is on the beach, the tint is not optional
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. That depends on how much glass faces west, what the attic is doing, how old the air handler is and how you actually live in the house. Anyone who gives you a firm percentage before measuring is guessing.
What we will do is put the exact glass on the quote with the number it carries, and tell you what it is replacing. You can compare that against anything else you are looking at.
If you tell us which way the room faces, we will say which coating we would put on that elevation and why. On a north facing bedroom the honest answer is often that the cheaper coating is the right one.
Impact windows across South Florida
The file you keep when the job is done
The permit, closed and inspected
Approval numbers, unit by unit
Impact window FAQ
Do impact windows replace my hurricane shutters?
In most cases yes. Impact rated windows are a permanent form of opening protection, so once every glazed opening in the house is impact rated you no longer need panels or accordions on those openings. If you do the job in phases, keep the shutters on whatever has not been replaced yet. Your building department looks at the whole envelope, not one window.
How long does an installation take?
The install itself is usually one to three days for a typical single family home, depending on the number of openings and whether we are working from the inside or the outside. The longer part is before that: manufacturing lead time after the final measure, plus permit review at your building department. Both vary by season and by jurisdiction, and we give you the current numbers in writing with your proposal.
Do I need a permit to replace windows?
Yes. Replacing windows and exterior doors is permitted work everywhere in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade, and the permit application has to include the product approval for the exact unit being installed. We prepare and submit the package, and we meet the inspector at the end. If a contractor offers to skip the permit, that is the moment to walk away, because an unpermitted window will follow you to closing and to your insurer.
What is a DP rating and why does it matter?
DP stands for design pressure. It is the wind load the complete assembly is tested to hold, measured in pounds per square foot, positive and negative. The required DP for your house depends on where you are, how tall the wall is, how exposed the site is and where the opening sits on the elevation. Corner openings and second floors usually need more. A window with a high DP in the brochure is meaningless if the anchors and the buck are not part of the same approval, which is why we specify the assembly and put the numbers on your proposal.
Will impact windows lower my insurance?
That is a question for your agent, and we will not answer it with a percentage. What your carrier does with the change depends on your policy, your roof and the rest of the structure, and any contractor who quotes you an exact number before the work is done is guessing. What we control is the documentation: when we finish you hold the closed permit and the Florida Product Approval or Miami-Dade NOA number for every unit we installed. Take that file to your agent and let them tell you what it is worth on your policy.
How much do impact windows cost?
The price per opening moves with size, window type, glass package, frame material and finish, and with whether the existing opening needs structural work. A row of small single hungs and a wall of fixed picture units are not the same job. We do not publish a range we would then have to walk back, so we measure the house, spec each opening and give you one firm written number that includes product, permit, installation and cleanup. The estimate is free and there is no obligation.
Which areas do you serve?
Martin, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, from our shop at 7830 Byron Dr Ste 4, West Palm Beach, FL 33404. Miami-Dade and Broward are inside the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone and Palm Beach and Martin are not, so the approvals and the specification change depending on which side of the line you are on. We handle both every week.
Replacing the doors too?
Protect your home. Invest in peace of mind.
- 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