No. A roof window is supplied glazed and weathered, and blinds are a separate order. That is worth knowing at the point of buying, because the blind type you eventually want can affect what you specify on the window itself, and because a manufacturer blind made for a size code fits in a way a generic one does not.
Why they are separate
Because the window is a weathering component and the blind is a furnishing one.
A window has to keep water out and hold a thermal performance figure, and none of that involves a blind. Manufacturers keep them apart so a room can be fitted out later, or changed, without anybody touching the roof.
Blackout blinds
The one most bedrooms end up with.
An opaque fabric runs in side channels, so the fabric is held at the edges and light does not leak down the sides. In a loft bedroom facing east that is the difference between waking at four and waking at seven.
The side channels are the part that matters. A blind without them is not a blackout blind whatever the fabric does.
Pleated and roller blinds
For softening light rather than stopping it.
A pleated blind diffuses the light and can generally be positioned anywhere down the pane rather than only fully up or fully down, which suits a room where the glare moves through the day.
A roller in a translucent fabric does much the same for less.
Awning blinds
The one most people have never heard of, and the one that does most for overheating.
An awning is a mesh fitted on the outside of the glass, so it stops solar gain before it reaches the pane rather than after. The view through it stays.
Outside is where a blind has to be if heat is the problem, and why is set out on do blinds reduce heat through a rooflight.
Venetian blinds
Available, and better on a roof than people expect.
Slats angled against a high sun cut glare while leaving the room bright, which suits a study or a kitchen where a blackout would be wrong.
They collect dust faster than fabric does, which on an overhead pane means occasional wiping.
Why a manufacturer blind fits better
Because it is made to a size code rather than to a measurement.
A blind made for the range clips into fixings already built into the frame, sits within the sash, and moves with the sash when the window opens.
A generic blind fitted to the reveal has to be lifted out of the way before the window can open at all.
The fixing points in the frame
Present from new, which is why retro fitting is simple.
Roof window frames carry pre positioned brackets or slots for blind fixings, so adding one years later takes minutes and needs no drilling into the frame.
It is one reason there is no rush to decide at order.
What to decide at order anyway
Two things, and they are easy to miss.
Whether the window is somewhere you will be able to reach, because a blind on an out of reach window wants a control rod or a motor. And the frame finish, because blind side channels are made to match it.
Electric and solar blinds
The answer where the window is high or above a stairwell.
A motorised blind runs from a handset, and a solar version carries its own panel and battery so no cable is needed. On a window that has been in for years, solar is usually the only sensible retro fit.
The reasoning is the same as on the electric rooflight installation page.
Blinds on an electric window
Worth pairing deliberately. Where the window itself is motorised, a blind on the same control system is operated from the same handset, which is tidier than a second remote in a drawer.
Matching the two at order is what avoids that.
Whether a blind helps in winter
A little, and it is a real effect rather than a marketing one.
A closed blind traps a layer of still air against the pane, which reduces heat loss slightly and, more usefully, keeps the inner face of the glass a touch warmer.
It does not turn a double glazed unit into a triple glazed one.
Blinds and condensation
Where a blind can make things marginally worse.
A tightly closed blind reduces air movement over the glass, so moisture reaching the pane sits there longer.
In a bedroom that is rarely a problem. In a bathroom, obscured glass is the better answer than a blind.
Fitting one yourself
Ordinarily straightforward. A manufacturer blind is a bracket at each side and a top rail that clips in, and the instructions assume a homeowner rather than a fitter.
The one to be careful with is a blackout, where the side channels have to be square or the fabric binds.
Where a blind is not the answer
Overheating on a large south facing pane.
An internal blind sits behind the glass, so the heat is already in the room by the time the fabric sees it, and the blind then radiates it.
Solar control glass or an external awning is what fixes that, and it is decided at order.
Fabric life on a roof
Shorter than on a wall window, and worth knowing.
A blind on a roof takes more direct sun than one downstairs, so fabrics fade faster, particularly strong colours on a south slope.
It is a replaceable component rather than a permanent one.
What we check on a pitched roof
We check the frame finish and the reach before a blind is chosen, and where the problem described is heat rather than light we say so, because an internal blackout will not fix it.
The wider specification is on the roof window installation page.
Thinking about this job? We survey across Worthing, West Sussex and the South Downs and give you a fixed price before any work starts, with a 10-year workmanship guarantee.