Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay Is Not in the High Velocity Hurricane Zone
HVHZ applies to Miami-Dade and Broward. Everywhere else in Florida — including all of Tampa Bay — works under statewide Florida Product Approval. A quote citing a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance is not citing your requirement, and paying an HVHZ premium at a non-HVHZ address is money that buys nothing.
Your address and a list of openings. We will tell you what each one actually has to resist before anybody quotes a product.
Not HVHZ
Tampa Bay is outside the High Velocity Hurricane Zone
FL approval
Statewide Product Approval is the path here
Design pressure
Set by your address and your opening, not by a brand
Licensed
General contractor, licensed in the state of Florida
What we install
What we install
Six opening types, each governed by its own calculated design pressure.
Impact Windows
The core product. What matters is not the brand but whether the specific unit is approved for the pressure your specific opening has to resist.
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Sliding Glass Doors
A large sliding door is the biggest single opening in most homes and the one with the highest loads.
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Entry Doors
An impact entry door is a rated assembly — slab, frame, hardware and any glazing — approved as a unit.
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Garage Doors
The largest opening in most homes, and the one most often left unrated after everything else is done.
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French & Specialty Openings
French doors, arched heads, round and other non-standard openings, where the approval may not cover the shape.
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Impact Glass Retrofit
Replacing only the glass in existing frames sounds cheaper. It usually does not achieve a rated assembly.
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Tampa Bay specifics
Tampa Bay specifics
The approval regime, the wind zone, surge, the housing stock, and how we work at this distance.
Tampa Bay Is Not HVHZ
The High Velocity Hurricane Zone covers Miami-Dade and Broward. Tampa Bay is outside it, and works under statewide Florida Product Approval.
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The Wind Zone
Design wind speeds in the Tampa Bay area are generally lower than in south-east Florida, which changes the pressures products have to meet.
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Surge & Water
The Tampa Bay area has significant surge exposure, and impact windows address wind and debris rather than water rising from below.
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Older Housing Stock
Much of the Tampa Bay housing stock predates current requirements, and what the wall is actually made of decides the installation.
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How We Work Here
We are based in Fort Lauderdale and licensed in the state of Florida. Tampa Bay work is scheduled around that, and we would rather be clear than imply otherwise.
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The difference
How we work
Tampa Bay is not in the High Velocity Hurricane Zone
HVHZ applies to Miami-Dade and Broward. Everywhere else in Florida, including the whole Tampa Bay area, works under statewide Florida Product Approval. A quote citing a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance is not citing your requirement, and a product without one is not automatically inferior here.
Design pressure comes from your address, not a brochure
The pressure each opening has to resist is calculated from the building's location, height, exposure and the size and position of that specific opening. Two windows in the same house frequently need different ratings, and a single figure quoted for a whole job is a number somebody made up.
We are Fort Lauderdale based and we say so
We are licensed in the state of Florida and we travel to Tampa Bay. That means scheduled work rather than same-day service, and we would rather be clear about it than imply a local yard we do not have.
We will tell you when a cheaper product is genuinely adequate
Being sold an HVHZ-rated product for a non-HVHZ address is common and it costs real money. Where a product with statewide approval meets your calculated pressures, that is the right product and we will say so.
Start here
Get your design pressures checked
Your address and a list of openings. We will tell you what each one actually has to resist before anybody quotes a product.
We are Fort Lauderdale based and licensed statewide. For a single window or urgent small work, a local contractor will serve you better and we will say so.
FAQ
Common questions
- Is Tampa Bay in the HVHZ?
- No. HVHZ covers Miami-Dade and Broward. Tampa Bay uses statewide Florida Product Approval, which is a different and fully legitimate path.
- Is "Miami-Dade approved" better for my house?
- It is a different regime designed for higher exposure. At a Tampa Bay address, what matters is meeting your calculated design pressures.
- Should every window have the same rating?
- No. Design pressure varies by opening — size, height, position and exposure. Corner zones need higher ratings than the middle of a wall.
- Do impact windows stop storm surge?
- No. They address wind and windborne debris. They do nothing about water rising from below, and that is a separate exposure in parts of Tampa Bay.
- Is glass-only retrofit worth it?
- Usually not. The rating covers glass, frame, anchoring and installation together, and on most older frames it does not produce a rated assembly.
- Why does the garage door matter?
- It is the largest opening in most homes, and a failure pressurizes the house from inside — which is how adequately built roofs come off.
- Does the wall construction matter?
- Enormously. Every approval specifies anchoring into a particular substrate, and older Tampa Bay homes are frequently a mixture.
- Are you based in Tampa Bay?
- No. Fort Lauderdale, licensed in the state of Florida, and we travel. Work here is scheduled rather than same-day.
Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.