Hurricane Impact Windows Houston

Why Houston Homes Need Impact Windows

Impact windows protect a Houston home by keeping the glass in the frame when wind-blown debris hits it, so the house never loses pressure and never takes in rain, with no shutters to put up.

Houston does not go long between storms. Ike broke windows across the region in 2008, Beryl knocked out power for weeks in 2024, and tropical storms hit the coast most years in between. In every one of them, the windows were the weak point of the house. Once one fails, wind pressurizes the house and rain pours in behind it.

Impact windows close that gap without plywood or shutters. The laminated glass can crack, but it stays in the frame and keeps the opening sealed. The protection is already in place every day of the season, including the storms that strengthen overnight.

Already have a broken window from a storm? Start with our storm-damaged windows guide for the first 48 hours: safety, photos for the claim, and how to spot storm-chaser contractors.

How Impact Glass Works

Impact glass is built like a car windshield. Two panes are bonded to a tough plastic interlayer, either PVB (polyvinyl butyral) or SGP (an ionoplast sheet that's stiffer than PVB). When something hits the glass, it may spiderweb, but the pieces stay stuck to the interlayer instead of flying into the room.

The rating means the window passed a specific test. Under ASTM E1996, the window takes a 9-pound 2x4 fired at 50 feet per second (Missile D), then goes through 9,000 cycles of positive and negative pressure under ASTM E1886 to simulate hours of hurricane wind. It has to stay sealed through all of it.

The frame matters as much as the glass. A laminated pane in a flimsy frame pops out whole. Impact units use thicker frame walls, reinforced sashes, and fasteners driven into the wall framing, and the installation has to follow the manufacturer's engineering so the frame can carry the load to the house.

The Window We Install: Wincore StormForce 8800

The hurricane window we install in Houston is the Wincore StormForce 8800, a vinyl impact window with aluminum-reinforced sashes and a 1-inch laminated insulated glass unit, tested to ASTM E1996 Wind Zone 4. We sell one impact line, and we picked it after installing a lot of other brands. Wincore builds it in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Here is what the manufacturer publishes for it.

Source: Wincore StormForce 8800 product page. Ratings vary by style, size and glass; we give you the rating for each window on your quote.

Windstorm Windows, TDI Evaluations and TWIA

In Texas, "windstorm windows" means windows with a product evaluation from the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) for designated windstorm zones. Coastal Harris County east of Highway 146 and the coastal counties around it sit inside the TWIA designated catastrophe area, where windstorm-evaluated products and an inspected installation are what you need to get or keep Texas Windstorm Insurance Association coverage.

For those jobs, the window has to carry a current TDI evaluation, the installation has to follow the approved engineering (fasteners, anchoring, spacing), and a TDI-appointed inspector or Texas-licensed engineer certifies the work. TDI's own guidance says "you must get an inspection for each windborne debris resistant product that you install." We confirm the current evaluation for your specific windows before we order, and we hand you the product approvals and installation records the inspector asks for.

Outside the designated zone, which is most of Houston, nothing requires hurricane windows. People outside the zone buy them because they want the house protected without boarding up every August, and the quieter rooms and tougher glass come with it.

Do Impact Windows Lower Insurance Costs in Texas?

Sometimes, and the amount depends on your carrier. TDI states that TWIA offers a discount for existing homes that "retrofit their exterior openings with windborne debris resistant products," and private insurers set their own credits on the wind and hail portion of a policy. In our experience carriers want every exterior opening protected before they give a credit, and they want paperwork proving it.

• Product approval for each window (we provide it)
• Installation records and photos (we provide them)
• The inspection certificate, where your zone requires one

Ask your agent what credit applies before you buy, and keep the documents with your policy. We don't quote a percentage because it changes from company to company.

Impact Windows vs Hurricane Shutters

Shutters win on price. Where they lose is the 24 to 48 hours before a Gulf storm, when a lot of people decide the forecast will shift and leave the panels in the garage. Impact windows don't depend on anyone being home.

Hurricane Window Cost in Houston

Hurricane window cost in Houston depends on four things: size and style, glass makeup, the design pressure your site needs, and the condition of the opening. Impact windows cost more than standard replacement windows, and the gap is the laminated glass, the reinforced frame, and the anchoring the engineering calls for. Nobody can give you a flat price over the phone, because these four things change it:

• Size and style. Casements and large picture windows cost more per opening than a standard double hung.
• Glass makeup. SGP interlayers and tempered laminated glass cost more than PVB with annealed glass, and some sizes require them to hit the rating.
• Design pressure needed. Coastal and exposed sites need higher-rated units.
• The opening itself. Second-story work, brick or stucco, and rotted framing add labor.

For a rough range on your home, try the cost calculator. For a real number, we measure every opening and quote each window with its rating on a written, itemized estimate.

Hurricane Window Installation in Houston

Hurricane window installation in Houston is done by our own employed crews, never subcontractors, to Wincore's published installation specifications. A window that passes the missile test in a lab still fails in a frame that pulls loose, which is why we keep this work in house. Our crews do it to Wincore's installation specifications, and the work carries our lifetime installation warranty on top of the manufacturer's product warranty.

Frequently Asked Questions