Impact Windows in Melbourne, FL

Impact windows replace your existing windows completely: frame, sash and glass. On a lot of Space Coast homes the windows being replaced are the originals, thin aluminum frames with single-pane glass, sweating on the inside on summer mornings and rattling when the wind picks up. New impact windows change three things at once. They resist debris during a storm, they seal much tighter, and their laminated glass cuts noise and most UV light.

How an impact window is built

The glass is the part people ask about. Two lites of glass are bonded to a plastic interlayer, usually PVB or a stiffer ionoplast. When a board or roof tile hits it, the glass may crack in a spiderweb pattern, but the interlayer keeps it in one piece and attached to the frame. Many units also come as insulated laminated glass, with an extra pane and an air space, which helps with heat gain on west-facing walls. Frames are heavy aluminum or reinforced vinyl, and the anchors that tie the frame to the block or wood wall are part of what the product was tested with.

Styles we install

• Single-hung: the bottom sash slides up; the most common style in Brevard bedrooms and the usual replacement for old aluminum single-hungs.
• Horizontal roller: one sash slides sideways; good under low eaves or over a kitchen counter.
• Casement: cranks outward and seals against the frame; strong in wind and lets in more breeze.
• Fixed and picture windows: no moving parts, so they can be large; common facing the river, the ocean or the pool.
• Shapes and mulled units: arches, half-rounds and windows joined together in one opening, each with its own tested assembly.

Bedrooms and escape openings

The building code requires each sleeping room to have an emergency escape opening big enough for a person to climb through. When we change a bedroom window, the new unit has to keep that clear opening size. Sometimes a single-hung that matches the old one does not open wide enough once the thicker impact frame is included, and a casement is the better choice. We check this when we measure.

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Ratings to read on the quote

Every impact window sold in Florida should have a Florida Product Approval number, and many also carry a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance. The approval tells you the design pressure, a number in pounds per square foot showing how much wind push and pull the unit is rated for. Corners of a house see higher wind pressures than the middle of a wall, so a large window near a corner may need a higher rating than a small one in the middle. We size the rating to the opening and its spot on the house.

Signs your windows are due

• Single-pane glass in thin aluminum frames, often original to the house
• Windows that will not lock, stick, or have broken balances
• Water stains on the sill or drywall under the window after a rain
• Condensation or fog between panes of older double-pane units
• Rooms near the windows that stay hot in the afternoon no matter what the thermostat says
• You are tired of hauling out panels or closing shutters every time a storm is forecast

Install day

We remove the old window, clean the opening and check the buck or framing for rot or damage. The new unit is set level and square, anchored at the spacing its approval calls for, and sealed. Inside, we finish the trim. Outside, we patch the stucco or siding around the frame so it is ready for paint. Several openings can usually be changed in a day, and we keep each room open only as long as the change-out takes.

Living with them

Impact windows need very little upkeep. Rinse salt and sand out of the tracks and weep holes a few times a year, especially beachside, and keep the sliding parts clean so the locks seat fully. Do not drill into the frame to hang anything; that can affect the tested assembly.