New Build? Your Window Coverings Checklist for GTA Homes

Start with lead time, not with fabric

Everything custom is made to your exact window, so the calendar is the first constraint. Our manufacturing runs 7–15 business days from the day the order is confirmed, and installation is typically a single 1–2 hour visit after that.

Work backwards from your possession date. If you message us with photos during your PDI walkthrough, we can usually complete the in-home consultation within 2–4 days, which puts blinds on your windows within roughly two to three weeks of closing. Leave it until after you've moved in and you're living with bare glass through the same window.

There is no rush surcharge on our side, but there is no way to compress manufacturing either. The homeowners who pay 'rush pricing' in the GTA are usually the ones who end up buying stopgap ready-made panels and then buying the custom product anyway a month later.

Room-by-room priority: bedrooms first

01 — Bedrooms. Blackout roller shades go in first, every time. A new build with bare bedroom glass means 5 a.m. sun in June and full visibility from the street at night. Blackout rollers with side channels solve both, and they are the cheapest way to make a new house liveable.

02 — Main-floor living areas. Zebra blinds or light-filtering rollers come second. This is where you can take a week or two to look at fabric in your own light before committing, because the room is usable in the meantime.

03 — Patio doors and wide spans. Vertical blinds or wide rollers handle the walkout. Builder patio doors are often wider than standard, so measure early rather than assuming a stock size.

04 — Tall, stair and specialty glass. Motorised shades come last, partly because they cost the most and partly because they are the windows nobody is standing at anyway. Spreading this stage into a second order is completely normal.

Builder-grade window quirks to check before you get quoted

New GTA builds share a handful of recurring quirks. Shallow frame depth is the most common — many builder windows do not have enough recess for a clean inside mount, which changes the hardware and sometimes the price. Bay windows, arched transoms and oversized patio doors all need a different approach again; we cover those in detail in our guide to bay, arched and patio door window coverings.

Also check for low-E coatings and south-facing glass. On a west or south exposure, a solar-screen roller protects flooring and furniture far better than a decorative fabric, and the fabric openness percentage matters more than the colour.

Finally, if your builder installed temporary paper shades, keep them up until your custom order arrives. They are ugly, but they buy you the two to three weeks you need to do this properly.

What to budget for a new build

These are the same installed ranges published on our pricing page — fabric, hardware, custom manufacture to the millimetre, and professional installation, per window:

Roller shades: $170–$320 installed. Zebra blinds: $180–$320 installed. Vertical blinds: $220–$400 installed. Motorized blinds: $450–$900 installed. Custom drapery: from $320 installed. Window shutters: from $450 installed.

A typical 2,000–2,500 sq ft new build in Ajax, Whitby, Clarington or Vaughan has 12–18 windows. Doing bedrooms and main floor in the first order and leaving the tall glass for later usually lands the first phase in the $2,000–$4,000 range installed, with the specialty windows added when you're ready.

Every quote is written, itemised per window, and free. There is no measure fee and no travel fee anywhere across the Greater Toronto Area.

The new-build checklist

Send window photos on WhatsApp during or right after your PDI walkthrough.

Book the free in-home consultation for the week you take possession — samples come to you.

Confirm bedrooms as phase one, main floor as phase two, specialty glass as phase three.

Flag any bay, arched or oversized patio-door glass so it is measured properly the first time.

Allow 7–15 business days manufacturing before you expect installation.

Keep the builder's paper shades up until install day.