Windows & Doors

It depends more on your specific openings than any flat number can capture — size, quantity, frame material, glass package, and whether you're in Miami-Dade/Broward's HVHZ (which requires Miami-Dade NOA product) or Palm Beach's Wind-Borne Debris Region (where Florida Product Approval product is also accepted and can cost less) all move the price. As a general sense of scale, per-opening pricing spans a wide range from entry-level aluminum units to premium architectural glass, and a whole-home project covering 15-25 openings is typically a five-figure investment once permitting and installation are included. If you're income-eligible, the state's My Safe Florida Home program can also offset part of the cost through a matching grant after a qualifying wind mitigation inspection, so it's worth checking eligibility before you budget the full amount yourself.

You're not required to rip out existing windows that are just sitting there — the code applies when you do permitted work. But once you pull a permit to replace a window or door in Miami-Dade or Broward's High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, that opening must be impact-rated or protected by a permanent, code-approved shutter system; there's no "just put in a regular window" option under permit. Florida's building code also has broader re-roofing and renovation-scope rules that can pull older parts of a structure up to current code once enough of it is being touched — we'll flag if your specific project crosses one of those thresholds rather than assume it does or doesn't. Palm Beach follows the same protect-every-opening principle but as a Wind-Borne Debris Region rather than HVHZ, with slightly more flexible product approval options.

They can, and the discount can be meaningful — opening protection is one of the largest credits on Florida's wind mitigation inspection form (OIR-B1-1802), with industry sources commonly citing a rough range of 25 to 45 percent of the wind portion of a premium for fully protected homes. The state doesn't publish one fixed number, and the exact dollar savings vary a lot by carrier, coverage, and where you live, so we won't quote you a specific figure without knowing your policy. The important detail: the credit generally requires every opening on the house to be protected for full value, and it only applies after you schedule a post-installation wind mitigation inspection and submit that report to your insurer — the discount doesn't happen automatically just because the work is done.

The on-site installation itself is usually the fast part — a handful of openings can often be completed in a day or two, and a full-home project typically wraps in about a week of active crew time, depending on scope and access. The bigger variable is everything before installation day: permit review and approval, plus manufacturing lead time, since impact-rated product is built to order rather than pulled off a shelf. That combined lead time commonly runs several weeks, longer heading into hurricane season when demand and permit volume both spike, so we build your timeline around ordering early rather than assuming installation speed is the bottleneck.

You need a permit for window and door replacement in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach County — even a single opening, if it's being replaced rather than repaired. Each county wants documentation of the specific product's Notice of Acceptance or Florida Product Approval number, floor plans showing what's being replaced, and a licensed contractor's application. Skipping the permit isn't just a compliance risk — an unpermitted replacement usually can't be used to claim the wind mitigation insurance credit either, since the carrier wants the inspection and permit record to back it up.

Both meet the same wind-pressure and large-missile impact testing standards, so from a pure code standpoint, either satisfies the requirement. The real difference is how they behave day to day: impact glass is permanent protection that's already in place when a storm forms, while shutters only protect the house if they're actually deployed correctly and in time, and a skipped or jammed panel creates a real gap. Impact glass also does more for you the other 360 days a year — reduced noise, better UV and heat control, added security — while shutters can be a lower upfront cost, especially if you're protecting large or unusually shaped openings. Plenty of homeowners land on a mix: impact glass on the openings they want to leave alone, shutters on a few others, as long as every single opening ends up covered by one method or the other.

It's real, not just marketing. Impact glass is built from laminated panes bonded with a PVB interlayer, and that same construction that stops wind-borne debris also dampens sound transmission noticeably — homeowners near busy roads or under flight paths tend to notice it first. Paired with a Low-E coating, which reflects solar heat rather than letting it transfer indoors, many homeowners see a real, often double-digit percentage reduction in cooling costs, since the AC system isn't fighting as much heat gain through the glass. The effect is more pronounced the worse your existing windows are — single-pane or older aluminum-frame units see the biggest jump.

It's real — Florida's HB 7031E, signed in June 2026, created a sales-tax refund for impact-resistant windows and doors purchased between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2029. It's a refund, not a discount at checkout: you pay full sales tax when you buy, then apply to the Florida Department of Revenue for reimbursement afterward, and applications are accepted through September 30, 2029. The refund is capped at $500 per residence, and it only applies to homestead-exempt residential property valued at $700,000 or less — it doesn't cover rentals, second homes, or commercial buildings. It's worth doing alongside the wind-mitigation insurance discount, not instead of it — they're two separate savings that both apply to the same project.

A few signs point clearly to replacement rather than repair: fogging or a visible haze between panes (a failed seal that can't be fixed, only replaced), windows or doors that are hard to open, close, or lock, persistent drafts or water intrusion around the frame during rain, and visible corrosion on aluminum frames or rot around the rough opening. There's also a code-driven reason worth knowing — if your windows predate the post-2002 HVHZ code overhaul, they were never tested to current impact standards at all, which matters both for storm safety and for whether you can claim the insurance credit. If you're planning to sell, refinance, or you're just tired of closing shutters every storm season, that's usually a good time to get an assessment rather than wait for a failure to force the decision. ---