The product matters. The installation and the paperwork matter just as much — and they are where most of the money is either saved or lost. Call (954) 331-7392.
Impact glass is one of the few home improvements in South Florida that pays you back in more than one currency: it is a storm measure, a noise measure, a security measure, and it can change what an insurer charges you. It is also one of the most permit-intensive jobs a house can go through, and the paperwork is not optional.
Every impact unit installed in Broward has to carry a valid Florida Product Approval or a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance for the specific size and configuration going into your opening. The approval covers the window and the way it is anchored. A unit that is approved in one size is not automatically approved in another. This is a large part of why a permit set takes time to assemble and why a quote that seems suspiciously cheap sometimes is.
Impact glass rarely fails. Installations do. Anchor spacing, the right fastener into the right substrate, correct shimming so the frame is not racked, a proper buck where one is required, and a sealed perimeter that keeps water out. Water intrusion around a new window is the single most common callback in this trade, and it is entirely an installation issue.
Single-hung and horizontal-roller windows are the volume products in Broward houses. Sliding glass doors are heavier, wider and far more sensitive to a level, properly supported opening. Impact entry doors bring their own hardware and threshold detailing. A house is usually a mix, and mixing manufacturers across a house is fine as long as each opening is approved and each install is done to that manufacturer's instructions.
After the work is finished and the permit is closed, an inspector can issue a wind mitigation report reflecting your new opening protection. That report is what your insurer reads. We are not insurance agents and we do not promise a specific premium change — what we can promise is that the permit will be closed properly and the documentation will exist, because without it the upgrade may as well not have happened as far as the carrier is concerned.
Many communities specify frame colour, glass tint and grid pattern, and most require architectural approval before installation. Condo buildings frequently have their own rules and their own preferred window schedule. Get that approval in hand before ordering, because custom-sized impact units are not returnable.
This is not a fast job and anyone telling you otherwise is guessing. Measurement, order and manufacturing, permit review at the municipality, installation, then inspection. Lead times move with demand and with the season. We give you the current realistic window at the time you sign and we tell you when it moves, rather than letting you find out by waiting.
Field measurement of every opening. Product selection with the approvals attached. The permit application and drawings. Installation by our own crew. Stucco and interior patching around the openings. Scheduling the inspection and getting the permit closed. Licensed and insured, with the debris and the old units gone when we leave.