Impact Windows in North Miami, FL

North Miami runs from Biscayne Bay well inland, and impact windows for a house near the bay are not always the same product as for a house a mile west. The city has about 8.46 square miles of land and 1.59 square miles of water, with the FIU Biscayne Bay campus and Oleta River State Park on the shoreline. Open water lets wind build up speed before it reaches the first row of buildings, so the design pressure on a bay-facing wall can be higher.

How design pressure is figured

Every impact window has a tested design pressure, listed in its approval as a positive number (wind pushing in) and a negative number (suction pulling out). The pressure a specific opening needs depends on the wind speed for the site, the height of the roof, how open the surrounding terrain is and where the opening sits on the wall. Corners and edges see more suction than the middle of the wall. We calculate those numbers for each opening, then choose windows whose ratings meet them. A house farther inland may be fine with a lighter frame, while a bayfront house may need a heavier one or smaller lites.

Window replacement in older neighborhoods

North Miami started as the Arch Creek settlement. Charles Ihle bought 80 acres there in 1891, the Arch Creek railroad depot opened in 1905, and the Biscayne Canal was dug in 1924 to drain flooded farmland. The town incorporated in 1926 and adopted the North Miami name in 1931. The older blocks near NE 125th Street have homes with small, irregular openings that were sized long before standard window sizes. We measure each one and order to fit, rather than forcing a stock size and filling the gap with stucco.

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Condos and apartments

The 2020 census counted 22,948 housing units in North Miami, and a good share are multi-family. For condo owners, the association usually controls exterior changes. Miami-Dade's permit guidance notes that buildings over three stories or 50 feet tall count as threshold buildings, where window and door installs need inspection by a state-certified special inspector. Ask your board early; the paperwork adds time.

The 1926 storm and the lost beach

The September 1926 hurricane stopped lot sales in North Miami and ended plans for a causeway to the beach. A 1931 Florida Supreme Court decision later cut seven miles of oceanfront from the town. The city has been a bayside community ever since.

Older homes with jalousies

Jalousie windows, the louvered glass slats that crank open, are still common on Florida rooms and back porches in North Miami's older blocks. They let in breezes but seal poorly and offer no storm protection. Replacing them with impact horizontal rollers or casements closes the room off for air conditioning and lets the space be used year-round. If the porch was enclosed without permits years ago, we will point that out, because the city may want to review the enclosure along with the new windows.

Permits

North Miami has its own building department. Check its current list for window and door permits; we provide the product approvals, opening schedule and pressure calculations.