The Dawes is under construction in East Toronto. If your closing date is ahead, you can choose materials and work out a window budget now. Final measurements need a finished opening and permission to access it. We make shades in Richmond Hill and dispatch within three working days of a confirmed order, with transit on top. The development is within our installation area.
What is The Dawes, and how far along is construction?
The Dawes is a condominium development in East Toronto by Marlin Spring Developments and Osmington. It has two towers near Main Street and Danforth GO in the Danforth Village area of Toronto. The south tower is 38-storey and the north tower is 24-storey, with 688 condominium units in total.
The development is under construction. In September 2026 the south tower had reached its mechanical penthouse, and the north tower was still to follow.
What is a condo window head made of, and when can I measure?
A condo window head is often concrete. It needs a masonry bit and the right plug for the fixing. Leave the mounting to an installer if you cannot identify the surface or choose the right fixing. Take final measurements once the opening is finished and you have permission to access it. Decide on an inside or outside mount before measuring. An inside mount sits within the opening. It needs at least 2 inches of flat depth inside the frame for the cassette. With less depth, choose an outside mount. This fixes to the wall above the opening and overlaps it. Add at least 2 inches each side and 2 to 3 inches above.
Measure width first, then height, to the nearest 1/8 of an inch. For an inside mount, measure the opening at the top, middle and bottom, then use the narrowest width. Measure down to the sill at the left, middle and right, then use the longest height. Give us the exact opening without subtracting anything. We make the factory deduction. Measure every window in the same pass with the same tape.
Should a balcony door have one wide shade or two?
A balcony door is usually the widest opening in a flat. You can choose one wide shade or two side by side. Check where the handle lands before deciding on the mounting position. Allow room for the handle and the shade to operate without catching each other.
Our shades can be 9 to 109 inches wide and up to 130 inches high, made to the eighth of an inch. Widths of 94 inches and over travel by courier in their own carton. That courier charge is $85 once per order.
Which side should the shade chain hang on?
Our chain-operated shades use a continuous loop chain. It is sold shrouded and anchored to the wall with a tension device. You choose which side the chain hangs on when you order. Our workshop sets its drop length to suit the window you have measured. Check which side you can reach comfortably without a door handle or furniture getting in the way.
Any shade can be motorized for $115.00 more. A motorized shade has no chain. One remote costs $50.00 and runs up to 15 shades.
When is a roller blind a better choice than a zebra shade?
A roller blind is one plain panel of fabric with no bands. It is a better choice if you want a plain surface and a lower price at the same size. A chain-operated roller blind at 30 by 72 inches is $165.75. A chain-operated zebra shade at 30 by 72 inches is $237.00.
A zebra shade alternates sheer and solid bands on one roller. Line the bands up for privacy or offset them for filtered light. Roller blinds come in materials 20, 21, 22 and 31. You can order free material samples on our website before buying.
What should I budget for made-to-measure blinds?
These are common window-size examples. They are not measurements for The Dawes. A chain-operated zebra shade at 30 by 72 inches, a tall bedroom-window example, is $237.00. At 48 by 84 inches, a floor to ceiling living-room-window example, it is $398.20. At 72 by 80 inches, a balcony-slider example, it is $547.00. At 72 by 84 inches, a wide balcony-slider example, it is $571.80. All four together come to $1,754.00.
IllustrationThose prices are before tax and include shipping in Canada. GST or HST is charged by delivery province. Every shade is priced from the measurements of the window it is for. There is no minimum order, so one shade is fine. Custom shades are final sale once the order is confirmed. That does not cover a shade that arrives faulty, damaged or different from what was ordered.
Does ShadeForge install in this part of Toronto?
The Dawes is roughly 30 km from our workshop in a straight line. It is inside our installation area, which extends 75 km from Elgin Mills and Yonge in Richmond Hill. Installation costs $100 per window, with a minimum of three windows for a visit.
We make shades to order in Richmond Hill and dispatch within three working days of a confirmed order. Transit is on top of that making time. When planning around your moving date, allow for delivery after dispatch and for installation separately. A closing date alone does not give you the finished measurements needed for an order.
What to do next
Order free material samples on our website while you plan your move. Use the website to price a window from its measurements before confirming your order.
Made to measure in Richmond Hill and shipped free anywhere in Canada. Or ring us on (289) 210-3254.
Where the facts come from. What this page says about The Dawes comes from urbantoronto.ca, which we read on 6 October 2026. ShadeForge makes and fits window shades. We are an independent business with no connection with Marlin Spring Developments and Osmington or with The Dawes, and the photographs on this page are of other homes we have fitted. The picture marked Illustration was made by computer to show the kind of window: it is not a picture of The Dawes, and not a photograph of our work.