Bay & Bow Windows

Bay & Bow Windows in Westgate, FL | Winslow Windows & Doors

Bay and bow windows do something no flat window can: they push the glass outward, past the wall line, and hand you back a few square feet of usable interior space along with a much wider view of your street, garden, or lake. In Westgate, FL, where hurricane code dictates nearly every window choice, homeowners often assume they have to trade that architectural character for impact protection. They don’t. Winslow Windows & Doors fabricates bay and bow configurations in laminated impact glass, custom-built to your opening and your wind zone, then installs them to hold under the same wind loads the Florida Building Code demands of any flat impact window. Call (561) 468-6136 to talk through a bay or bow design for your home.

Call (561) 468-6136

Product Overview - Bay & Bow Windows

A bay window is typically a three-panel projection: a wide center picture unit flanked by two angled side units, usually 30 or 45 degrees off the wall. A bow window uses four, five, or even six narrower panels arranged in a gentle arc. Both are structural, load-bearing assemblies, not decorative add-ons. In hurricane-prone construction, that matters. The entire projection has to be engineered as a single system so the seat board, head board, corner posts, and glass carry wind pressure together.

Winslow Windows & Doors builds these units in aluminum and vinyl frames, fabricated to the exact rough opening rather than pulled from a stock size. The glass is laminated impact with a PVB interlayer, the same technology that keeps hurricane debris from breaching your flat windows. The payoff is added interior square footage, usually a window seat or display shelf, plus panoramic sightlines that read beautifully across Westgate’s ranch and Florida-contemporary homes. We’ve installed bay units in homes along Okeechobee Boulevard corridor neighborhoods where owners wanted a reading nook facing the street, and bow units in newer developments where the curve softens a formal living room. Each one starts with a site measurement, not a catalog number.

Technical Specifications

• Frame materials: Aluminum or vinyl, selected for the exposure and budget of the opening.
• Maximum size: Custom fabricated to the opening. We do not cap you at a catalog dimension.
• Glass options: Laminated impact glass with PVB interlayer, Low-E insulated glass, tinted glass, clear glass.
• Finish options: White, almond, bronze, black, tan.
• Sill options: Standard sill or seat/shelf sill, depending on whether you want a deeper interior ledge.
• Design pressure: Matched to your wind zone, up to +/-100, never higher. We do not oversell PSF ratings your home does not need.

Hurricane & Compliance Performance

Laminated Impact Glass

The glass in every bay and bow unit we sell uses a PVB interlayer that holds broken glass in the frame under impact. This is the core of hurricane protection, and it is built into the angled side panels as much as the center picture unit.

Miami-Dade NOA / FL Product Approval

Each configuration carries a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance and Florida Product Approval number. These are issued per configuration, not per product line, so we verify the exact numbers on your written quote before fabrication begins.

FBC / HVHZ Compliance

Bay and bow assemblies from Winslow Windows & Doors are engineered to Florida Building Code High-Velocity Hurricane Zone requirements. That means the entire projection, including the seat and head structure, meets code, not just the glass.

TAS 201 / TAS 202 / TAS 203 Testing Context

HVHZ-rated products are tested under the TAS protocol family: TAS 201 for large-missile impact, TAS 202 for cyclic wind-pressure loading, and TAS 203 for forced-entry resistance. These are the standards that govern what a window must survive in coastal Florida.

Design Pressure for Your Wind Zone

We match design pressure to the wind zone your Westgate home actually sits in, up to +/-100 PSF, never higher. Buying a higher rating than required only adds cost. We quote what your permit will require.

Energy Performance

Low-E insulated glass is available on bay and bow units where heat gain through a large south-facing or west-facing projection becomes a comfort issue. Tinted and clear glass round out the options depending on how much natural light you want.

Color & Glass Options

Westgate’s housing stock leans toward warm stucco tones and Mediterranean accents, and our finish palette reflects that. White and almond remain the quiet, classic choices for French Colonial and ranch elevations. Bronze and tan read well on homes with barrel tile roofs and earth-toned stucco, while black frames have become a sharp contrast choice on modern flat-roof builds and renovated mid-century homes in the neighborhood.

Glass selection depends mostly on orientation. A bay window on a west-facing wall in Westgate gets brutal afternoon sun, which makes Low-E insulated glass worth the upgrade. A north-facing bow window can take clear impact glass and stay bright without overheating. Tinted glass helps with glare control on bedrooms and TV walls. Your quote will lay out both the color and glass spec line by line, so there’s no guesswork when the permit office asks what you’re installing.

Installation by Winslow Windows & Doors in Westgate

A bay or bow window is only as good as its installation. The NOA rating assumes the unit is set correctly, and an out-of-level sill or poorly sealed perimeter voids everything the engineering was meant to do. We see it on replacement jobs around Westgate: homeowners who bought impact windows from a big-box supplier, had a handyman set them over the weekend, and now have water staining at the seat board corners.

Our process starts with a pre-install inspection of the rough opening and existing framing. If a header is undersized or a cant strip is rotten, we find it before the window goes in, not after. We set every bay and bow level, plumb, and square, using shims and support brackets engineered for the projection weight. The perimeter gets AAMA 812 low-expansion foam sealant, and the installation follows AAMA 2400/2410 practice for fenestration installation. After the unit is set and flashed, we run a water test on the perimeter and inspect the interior for any air movement before trim goes back on.

Westgate sits in a HVHZ jurisdiction, which means your permit will require the NOA or Florida Product Approval paperwork before the window is signed off. We include that documentation in your submittal package and answer plan-review comments if they come back. The goal is a permit that closes and an inspection that passes the first time.

Frequently Asked Questions - Bay & Bow Windows

Get a Quote - Bay & Bow Windows in Westgate

Whether you’re replacing a tired old bay or adding a new bow to a living room facing the lake, start with a free on-site measurement. We’ll walk the opening with you, check the framing, and put together a written quote with the exact configuration, glass, finish, and NOA documentation for your permit. Call (561) 468-6136 to schedule your measurement in Westgate.

Written by the team at Winslow Windows & Doors, serving Westgate, FL and surrounding Palm Beach County communities with hurricane-impact windows and doors.