The Fenestration Insider

At PrimeSteel, steel fenestration systems are not just construction elements: they are architectural tools that shape the space, enhance natural light and highlight the design. Our expertise allows us to offer solutions of high precision, durability and timeless aesthetics.

We work closely with architects, engineers and developers — from the design stage to the final installation — ensuring that every project meets both the architectural vision and the technical requirements.

Our Values

At Prime Steel we operate based on solid principles that define every project:

• Reliability and consistency in every collaboration
• High quality of materials and construction
• Solutions based on engineering expertise
• Flexibility and adaptability to project needs
• Absolute compliance with safety standards and regulations

Products & Systems

Our products and constructions include:

• High specification steel door frames
• Slim profile window frames
• Premium curtain walls and glazing
• High security systems
• Special tailor-made solutions per project

Luca Di Gennaro is an international business development professional with a strong track record in the luxury and design industries, having worked with iconic brands including BMW, Maserati, and Flos.

Today, he leads North American business development for Capoferri, an Italian leader in bespoke luxury windows and doors. He works closely with architects, designers, developers, and luxury residential and hospitality clients to introduce Capoferri's highly customized solutions to the North American market.

With a deep understanding of premium positioning, relationship-driven sales, and international markets, Luca focuses on building strategic partnerships and bringing Italian craftsmanship, innovation, and bespoke design to the most demanding architectural projects across North America.

Capoferri Serramenti S.p.A. Società Benefit

Headquarters & Wood Division Via Cividini 20, 24060 Adrara S. Martino (BG), Italy

Metal Division Via Lombardia 2, 24060 Telgate (BG), Italy

AIA CES Provider | RIBA CPD Provider

Michael Stevens and his family relocated to Southwest Florida 31 years ago from New Jersey, where he would go on to build a diverse portfolio of ventures rooted in the building supply, nonprofit, and luxury real estate sectors. After earning his real estate license in North Jersey with a family-based firm, Fallivene Agency, Michael returned to the Sunshine State in 2017 to pursue new entrepreneurial endeavors.

Michael is married to Brianne Stevens and is the proud father of Elizabeth Stone Stevens. Outside of his professional pursuits, he enjoys working out, tennis, and spending time at the beach with his family.

He co-founded American Metal Roofing Supply (AMRS), a leading Standing Seam and 5v Exposed Fastener Systems supplier serving contractors and builders across Florida. AMRS has established itself as a trusted partner throughout the Sunshine State, delivering quality materials and responsive service to roofing professionals from the Panhandle to South Florida.

Michael also co-founded Apex Circle Inc., a Professional Men's Signaling Group operating as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Apex Circle exists to empower male entrepreneurs through the pillars of Business, Community, Faith, Family, and Health — creating a structured environment for men to grow, connect, and lead with purpose.

In addition to his supply and nonprofit work, Michael serves as a luxury real estate agent with Lifestyle & Luxury Living, a startup brokerage expanding throughout Southwest Florida. His breadth of experience across building materials, community development, and high-end real estate positions him as a uniquely versatile voice within the fenestration and building industry.

I'm super passionate about delivering performance and value to my clients. When a job is commissioned, far too often the hardware gets overlooked and the hardware that ends up getting installed on the doors and windows isn't fit for purpose and ends up failing mechanically and aesthetically.

My drive then comes through education. Making hardware a focal discussion early in the project to ensure longevity and performance on the doors and windows.

The hardware is the one part of the Door & Window that is physically touched and operated — lets make sure we get it right!

Here at Coastal, we are a family run business based in Cornwall, UK — incorporated in 2003.

Our expertise lies in creating Premium, Corrosion Resistant Hardware for Doors & Windows, that doesn't just look the part... It performs in the harshest of conditions.

Backed with rigorous testing and our Lifetime Guarantee — our range of hardware is the only choice when it comes to Coastal areas and high impact zones.

Sam Benowitz's career spans more than 45 years in the Glass and Glazing Industry. Throughout that time, he has served as both an entrepreneur and a corporate Vice President of Sales — a dual vantage point that has allowed him to develop an exceptionally rare and comprehensive skill set. His knowledge ranges from owning and operating a glass company to working side by side with the owners of major commercial buildings, and everything in between.

His sales acumen is well-documented: Sam once increased a company's monthly revenue from $20,000 to $400,000 in less than 18 months. His claim to fame, however, is a unique strategy he developed that combines offshore and domestic glass procurement. This approach enabled him to successfully complete 64 five-star hotel projects across the country — delivering thousands of shower doors with precision and efficiency.

Sam's expertise lies in both offshore and domestic monolithic and laminated tempered glass. His skill set has enabled him to sell and manage some of the largest glass projects worldwide. Now, armed with relationships across multiple domestic suppliers, he is able to work within tight lead times without sacrificing quality or cost competitiveness. Throughout his corporate career, he has developed deep proficiency in Construction Document Technology and become fluent in the language of Architectural Contract Documents — skills that prove invaluable when collaborating with owners, architects, general contractors, and glazing contractors alike.

Every project is different, presenting its own challenges and obstacles. Sam's approach to each is individual and strategic. He is a skilled craftsman at switching specifications, a discipline that creates a meaningful trickle-down effect on overall project costs.

Benowitz International Glass Products, LLC, is based in the Twin Cities, MN. The company operates as a manufacturer's representative and global distributor specializing in architectural and custom glass solutions. They supply glazing contractors across North America with premium commercial and residential products, including float stock sheets, heavy-glass shower doors, railings, IGUs, fire-rated glass, and LED smart-backlit mirrors.

The company's extensive product lineup connects glazing contractors with a global manufacturing network, improving supply chains and maximizing profit margins. Their substitution quotation process delivers unmatched pricing and sourcing, securing competitive materials both globally and domestically. Sam also leads Unique Strategies Consulting, LLC, bringing his decades of industry insight to firms seeking a competitive edge in glass procurement and project execution.

Estelle Power is the Founder, Owner and Director of IDS Irish Door Systems. Her career spans more than three decades across the door, fenestration, architectural steel and entrance-automation industries, combining extensive technical knowledge with commercial leadership and an enduring commitment to Irish manufacturing.

Years spent living and working overseas gave Estelle first-hand experience of demanding international markets and a clear understanding of the standards required to compete successfully within them. Her return to Ireland was both deliberate and ambitious: an opportunity to bring that experience home and apply it to the creation of a specialist manufacturing company capable of delivering internationally competitive products from Ireland.

That ambition became IDS Irish Door Systems in 2006. From the outset, the vision extended well beyond the supply of individual products. The objective was to establish a fully integrated business with the expertise, infrastructure and accountability to manage a project from initial concept and technical development through manufacturing, installation and long-term service.

Central to that vision was a determination to develop specialist skills, create meaningful employment and demonstrate the quality, technical expertise and precision of Irish manufacturing. Estelle's leadership style is engaged, exacting and collaborative. Among the most rewarding aspects of her role is seeing members of the IDS team excel—developing their expertise, refining their craftsmanship and growing in confidence within their respective disciplines.

The standard of workmanship associated with IDS is a direct reflection of the team's skill, commitment and meticulous attention to detail. Cross-functional collaboration is actively cultivated throughout the company. Design, technical, manufacturing, installation and service teams are encouraged to share knowledge, challenge ideas and contribute their individual perspectives. Harnessing that collective expertise gives IDS a significant competitive advantage, enabling complex briefs to be examined from every angle and translated into solutions that are technically rigorous, commercially practical and architecturally accomplished.

Craftsmanship at IDS is regarded as more than a production capability; it is an integral part of the company's culture. A fierce pride in the work is evident at every stage—from the precision of the engineering and manufacturing process to the quality of the final finish and installation. That shared sense of ownership creates a consistent determination to deliver an exceptional result for every client.

Continual improvement remains fundamental to Estelle's outlook. Investment in emerging technologies, research and development, specialist training and original product solutions has enabled IDS to evolve in step with increasingly complex market requirements. Equally important is the development of the next generation, with Estelle particularly committed to mentoring emerging talent and encouraging more women to build influential careers in steel, engineering and manufacturing.

Although the development of IDS is deeply personal to its founder, its success represents a collective achievement. It is the product of an exceptional team whose creativity, resilience and ambition continue to shape the business. Estelle's focus is to protect that culture, harness its combined strengths and ensure that, as IDS grows, it remains uncompromising in its standards, progressive in its thinking and accountable to every client it serves.

The Florida Building Commission has finalized the 9th Edition of the Florida Building Code, which is set to take effect statewide on December 31, 2026. This update transitions the state from the 8th Edition (2023) to a new standard based on the 2024 International Codes. For fenestration specifiers, the most critical changes involve tightened impact-resistance thresholds in wind-borne debris regions and more rigorous enforcement of product approval labeling.

As of October 2026, California continues to enforce its updated Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency Standards, which mandate specific thermal performance for all residential window and door replacements. The code requires strict adherence to U-factor and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) limits, which vary by climate zone. For many residential applications, the prescriptive path targets a U-factor of 0.30 and an SHGC of 0.23.

The Florida Building Commission has officially notified design professionals and builders that the Ninth Edition (2026) of the Florida Building Code will become the mandatory standard for all new permit applications submitted on or after December 31, 2026. Any plans submitted through the online portal after 4 p.m. on December 30, 2026, will be required to comply with the updated code requirements. This transition marks a significant shift for the state's building envelope and fenestration requirements.

For fenestration specifiers, this update necessitates a proactive review of current product approvals and energy compliance documentation. The Florida Building Code integrates stringent wind-load engineering, impact resistance, and energy performance standards, and the new edition will likely impact how these metrics are verified. The commission has specifically advised that those utilizing 'Cookie Cutter' or 'Master Model' programs should begin updating their models immediately to ensure compliance and prevent potential permitting delays.

This update is part of a broader regulatory effort to maintain the state's rigorous standards for windborne-debris protection and energy efficiency. As Florida remains a unique market where statewide product approval is required alongside NFRC labeling, specifiers must ensure that all fenestration products intended for use in 2027 projects are tested and certified against the Ninth Edition criteria before the year-end deadline.

Following an extensive public review period that concluded in April 2026, the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) has officially released its 2026 series of technical documents. These standards, including NFRC 100-2026 (U-factors) and NFRC 200-2026 (SHGC and Visible Transmittance), serve as the primary methodology for energy performance ratings used in building codes across North America. The updates ensure that simulation and testing procedures remain consistent with current industry advancements in glazing and frame technology.

For fenestration specifiers, these documents are the bedrock of compliance. The 2026 updates provide refined definitions and calculation methods for complex fenestration assemblies, including tubular daylighting devices and translucent products. By standardizing these metrics, the NFRC enables architects and engineers to compare product performance with greater accuracy, which is essential for meeting the increasingly stringent energy targets found in the 2027 IECC and various state-level energy codes.

Compliance professionals should note that these 2026 documents are now the active reference standards for certification programs. Specifiers should verify that all project submittals reference the 2026 versions of these NFRC procedures to ensure that their energy modeling and code compliance documentation are based on the most current, ANSI-approved testing protocols. Failure to utilize the updated standards may result in inaccurate performance data that does not meet the requirements of the latest building energy codes.

The sill is where most window leaks begin — and where most installers cut corners. The sill pan flashing method is the single most reliable defense against water intrusion at the rough opening, and it is non-negotiable in any exposure where wind-driven rain is possible.

The principle is simple: treat the rough opening sill as a shallow pan that must hold water if the primary seal ever fails. The pan is built before the window goes in, and it must slope outward so any water that reaches it drains to the exterior, not into the wall.

The sequence: first, install a preformed sill pan or build one from flexible flashing membrane, folding the membrane up the jambs at least 6 inches on each side. The interior leg of the pan must turn up to contain water; the exterior edge must lap over the weather-resistive barrier (WRB) so water exits the wall. If you are using a liquid-applied flashing, apply it to the same geometry — sill first, then jambs and head, with proper cure time between coats.

The most common field error is failing to lap the sill pan over the WRB at the sill-to-exterior transition. If water collects in the pan and has nowhere to go, the pan becomes a bathtub. The second most common error is puncturing the pan with fasteners or shims below the window. Never drive fasteners through the sill pan. Use sill support that sits on top of the pan, not through it.

A properly built sill pan will save the wall assembly even if the window's own seals fail years later. It is the cheapest insurance in the installation.

Both flashing tapes and liquid-applied flashings (LAFs) have a place in modern fenestration installation, but they are not interchangeable. Choosing the wrong one for the conditions is a common source of failures.

Flashing tapes are pre-cured, immediate, and easy to inspect. They are excellent for straight runs, square openings, and dry conditions. Their weakness is geometry: complex shapes, inside corners, and irregular substrates are where tapes lift, bridge, and fail to seal. Tapes also demand a clean, dry substrate at the time of application — a requirement that is routinely violated on real job sites.

Liquid-applied flashings conform to any geometry, seal fastener penetrations, and bond to damp (not wet) substrates. They are the better choice for rough openings with irregular shapes, for sealing around protrusions, and for any condition where a continuous, gap-free seal is critical. Their weakness is cure time: in cold or humid weather, cure can take hours, and the opening cannot be closed in until the flashing is fully cured.

The practical rule: use tape for the head and straight jamb runs where geometry is clean; use liquid for the sill, inside corners, and any irregular transition. Many high-performance installers use both on the same opening — liquid at the sill and corners, tape on the head and jambs. Never mix chemistries without confirming compatibility, and never apply either over a wet or frozen substrate.

Water does not need a big hole to destroy a wall. It needs a small, repeated entry point and no path out. The two-stage drainage plane is the detail that turns a leak into a non-event.

The concept: the window's own seals are the primary water barrier, but they are not trusted to be perfect forever. Behind and below the window, a secondary drainage path carries any water that gets past the primary seal safely to the exterior. This is the same logic used in rainscreen walls — assume some water will enter, and give it a way out.

In practice, the two-stage system means the rough opening is flashed to drain independently of the window. The sill pan is the second stage. The gap between the window frame and the rough opening — often packed with backer rod and sealant — must not be the only path. If water reaches that gap, it must be able to move down and out through the pan, not be trapped by sealant.

The critical field detail: do not seal the bottom of the window-to-rough-opening gap. The top and sides can be sealed; the bottom must remain open so water can exit. Installers who seal all four sides trap water inside the wall — the single most common cause of hidden rot around windows in older construction.

If you take one thing from this guide: water that enters must have a path out. A sealed bottom is a dam. An open bottom is a drain.

In high-wind zones — coastal Florida, the Gulf, tornado-prone regions — window anchorage is life-safety work. The engineering is specified, but the field execution is where compliant designs fail.

The first principle: the anchor is only as strong as the substrate it bites into. A code-compliant anchor in a hollow CMU cell, a cracked stud, or an over-drilled mullion is not compliant. Installers must verify the substrate at every anchor location, not assume the opening matches the drawings. When the substrate is not what the engineering assumed, stop and get a field fix — do not improvise.

The second principle: fastener spacing and edge distances are not suggestions. The engineering specifies embedment depth, edge distance, and spacing for a reason. An anchor placed too close to the edge of a concrete mullion will spall the concrete under load and pull out. An anchor with insufficient embedment in wood will withdraw under cyclic wind pressure. Measure, mark, and install to the spec — and document deviations.

The third principle: impact-rated assemblies are tested as systems. Substituting a fastener, a shim, or an anchor type that is not on the approved product's installation instructions voids the approval. The NOA or Florida Product Approval is only valid when the product is installed exactly as tested. A field substitution is a code violation, even if it 'looks stronger.'

What the field misses most often: the interaction between shimming and anchoring. Over-shimming creates a gap that the anchor must span, reducing its effective embedment. Shim within the manufacturer's limits, anchor through solid material, and never rely on sealant to carry structural load.

The fenestration industry has a nomenclature problem, and it is costing us influence.

When we introduce ourselves as window dealers, window manufacturers, or window installers, we position ourselves downstream of the decisions that actually matter. Architects, building scientists, and sophisticated owners are not thinking about windows when they think about the problems we solve. They are thinking about thermal comfort. About acoustic performance. About daylighting. About energy cost. About resilience in the face of increasingly severe weather. About the 50-year performance envelope of the envelope systems they are specifying.

The product we make and sell is the primary mediator between the interior environment and the exterior climate. In a building that is not a data center or a laboratory — a building where human beings live, work, learn, and recover — that mediating function is arguably the most consequential performance system in the structure. More consequential than the HVAC, which compensates for the fenestration's failures. More consequential than the insulation, which is static. We move. We open. We fail in ways that are often invisible until they are catastrophic.

And yet, we consistently allow ourselves to be positioned as a commodity procurement category rather than as a performance discipline. We participate in bid processes where our product is evaluated exclusively on unit cost and delivery schedule. We accept value engineering substitutions that we know will compromise performance and then manage the warranty consequences years later. We sell into a procurement system that is structurally designed to extract margin rather than invest in performance.

This is a strategic failure, and it is ours to correct.

The correction begins with language. Professionals who position themselves as building performance consultants — who enter conversations about energy modeling, thermal bridging, acoustic transmission, and moisture management — are invited into the specification process before the project goes to bid. Professionals who wait for the bid invitation are price takers by definition.

The correction continues with knowledge investment. The most respected people in this industry are not the ones who know the most products. They are the ones who understand the science well enough to translate it into decisions — who can explain to an owner why a $400 premium per unit for a thermally broken frame system will reduce their mechanical load enough to right-size their HVAC, producing a net positive return inside the construction budget, not just over the life of the building.

I started The Fenestration Insider because I believe this industry has more to say than it has been saying. More technical depth. More intellectual rigor. More honest conversation about the gap between what we sell and what our clients actually need. The pages of this publication are an invitation to that conversation.

We are not in the window business. We are in the building performance business. The sooner we act like it, the better the outcomes for our clients, our companies, and our craft.