Pettis Pools & Patio Reviews: Pros, Cons, and What to Ask

Pettis Pools & Patio is a well-established Western New York contractor based out of Hilton, NY (1186 Manitou Rd) and East Rochester, NY (825 Fairport Rd), and they've been in business since 1962, giving them over 60 years of regional experience. For example, the BBB lists Pettis Pools Inc. at 1186 Manitou Rd, Hilton, NY 14468, with another location at 825 Fairport Rd, E Rochester, NY 14445, and shows the business started 1/1/1962 [BBB lists Pettis Pools Inc.

at 1186 Manitou Rd, Hilton, NY 14468 with another location at 825 Fairport Rd, E Rochester, NY 14445](https://www. bbb. org/us/ny/hilton/profile/pool-contractors/pettis-pools-inc-0041-34020273). If you're researching them today, you're most likely deciding whether to hire them for a fiberglass pool installation, hot tub purchase, or backyard patio and outdoor living project.

If you want unique patios and pools reviews to help you compare options, start by matching each review to the project type and timeline you care about most. The short version of what reviews tell us: customers generally report solid workmanship and a knowledgeable team, but like most established local contractors, communication gaps and scheduling friction show up often enough to warrant careful upfront planning on your end.

What Pettis Pools & Patio actually does

Pettis operates across a broad scope of backyard and outdoor living services. On the pool side, they're an authorized fiberglass pool dealer (including Thursday Pools models), which means they sell and install pre-formed fiberglass shells rather than custom gunite or vinyl liner pools. They also carry and service hot tubs and spas. On the patio and outdoor living side, the 'Patio' part of their name isn't just branding: they handle backyard retreats, which typically includes patio hardscaping, outdoor structures, and related elements that complete a pool or backyard project.

Having two retail and service locations (Hilton and East Rochester) means they can serve a wider corridor across the Rochester, NY metro area and surrounding Western NY towns. Before you go too deep into reviews, make sure the location you're reading about matches your project geography. Reviews tied to one location don't always reflect the crew or experience at the other.

How to actually read Pettis Pools & Patio reviews

Pettis shows up on Angi and the BBB (registered as Pettis Pools Inc.), and reviews are scattered across Google, Houzz, and spa/pool retailer directories. If you're searching for pools, patios, decks, and more reviews, focus on the reviews that match your exact project type and location pools patios decks and more reviews. The first thing to check is recency. A company with 64 years in business will have old reviews that reflect a completely different era of management, crew, and supply chain. Focus on reviews from the last two to three years, since those reflect the team actually doing the work today.

On Angi specifically, filter by project type. A glowing review about a hot tub delivery tells you almost nothing about their pool excavation crew or how they handle a patio project that runs over budget. If you are specifically looking for Watson's pools and patios reviews, make sure the feedback lines up with your project type and scope a glowing review about a hot tub delivery. You want reviews that match your project scope: fiberglass pool install, spa installation, or patio/outdoor living construction. Mismatched reviews are one of the most common ways homeowners get misled before hiring.

With the BBB listing (Pettis Pools Inc.), check the complaints section directly, not just the rating. BBB ratings can stay high even with a handful of unresolved complaints, so reading the actual complaint narratives and how the company responded gives you far more usable information than the letter grade alone.

What to trust vs. what to weight carefully

• Trust: Detailed reviews that name specific crew members, describe the installation process step by step, or reference how a specific problem was resolved.
• Trust: Reviews with photos attached, especially final result shots of pool finishes, coping, or patio surfaces.
• Weight carefully: Five-star reviews with no detail beyond 'great job, love our pool' — these can be real but they don't help you evaluate fit.
• Weight carefully: Reviews that mention the company followed up proactively after project completion, since aftercare responsiveness is one of the harder things to verify upfront.
• Be skeptical of: Any cluster of generic five-star reviews posted within weeks of each other with no specifics — this pattern sometimes reflects a prompted review push rather than organic feedback.

What customers consistently praise

Across verified reviews, a few themes surface repeatedly as genuine strengths for Pettis Pools & Patio. Workmanship quality on fiberglass pool installations is the most commonly cited positive: customers describe clean installs, good attention to coping and surround finishing, and pool shells that hold up well after the first few seasons. For a company that's been doing this since 1962, that kind of craft consistency is meaningful.

Product knowledge is another strong point. Reviewers frequently mention that staff at both locations are genuinely knowledgeable about pool chemistry, equipment selection, and spa maintenance, not just salespeople going through a script. If you're a first-time pool owner trying to understand salt systems vs. chlorine, or which fiberglass model fits a constrained lot, that expertise matters at the quote stage.

Value perception also comes up positively, especially for customers who got multiple bids. Several reviewers note that Pettis was not the cheapest option but that the quality of the finished product justified the price difference versus lower bids. That's a useful signal if you're comparing proposals: they're not a budget contractor, but they're also not inflating prices without delivering.

Where reviews flag problems or red flags

No contractor with 60-plus years of reviews is without complaints, and Pettis is no exception. The patterns worth watching fall into a few consistent categories.

Communication during the project is the most frequent friction point. Customers describe gaps between the sales process (where communication is typically strong) and the construction phase (where updates can become inconsistent). If you're the type of homeowner who needs regular check-ins on timeline and progress, build that expectation explicitly into the contract rather than assuming it will happen automatically.

Scheduling and timeline slippage show up in reviews more than you'd hope. Western New York's short outdoor construction season creates real capacity pressure, and Pettis, like every regional pool contractor, can run into backlog issues when spring demand spikes. Reviews mention start dates that shift, installation windows that stretch, and completion delays tied to equipment or backfill timing. This isn't unique to Pettis, but it's worth discussing directly before you sign.

Change orders and scope creep are another flag. A handful of reviews describe projects that came in over the original quote due to site conditions, equipment upgrades suggested mid-project, or add-on work that wasn't clearly priced upfront. This doesn't make Pettis dishonest, but it does mean you need a detailed written scope with line-item pricing before work starts, not a ballpark estimate.

Aftercare and warranty follow-through is the area with the most mixed reviews. Some customers report fast, responsive service when equipment problems arose post-installation. Others describe difficulty getting return calls or warranty work scheduled promptly. The difference often comes down to the season: expect slower response times in summer when the service team is stretched thin.

Which projects are a good fit based on review patterns

Not every contractor is the right fit for every project type, and review patterns can tell you a lot about where a company's real strengths land. Here's how to think about fit for the most common project types:

If your project is a fiberglass pool installation, Pettis is well-matched: the experience, product selection, and workmanship track record all support that. If you're looking purely for patio hardscaping with no pool component, the review base is thinner and you'd want to specifically ask about their patio-only project volume and request references for that work type.

How Pettis compares to other local contractors

Comparing contractors in the pool and patio space isn't just about price. When you use a review aggregation approach, you want to look at three things side by side: recency-weighted ratings, complaint resolution patterns, and project-type match. Pettis's 60-year track record gives it a larger review sample than most local competitors, which actually makes its patterns more reliable, both good and bad.

Compared to other established regional pool and patio contractors (similar to others reviewed in this space, like Texas Pools and Patios or Watson's Pools and Patios in their respective markets), Pettis sits in a similar tier: experienced, regionally respected, not the cheapest option, and with the same tension between strong sales/design consultation and variable field communication. If you're specifically searching for Texas Pools and Patios reviews, focus on recency, the type of project completed, and whether complaint responses match what homeowners experienced on the ground. The things that differentiate Pettis from a newer local competitor are the depth of product knowledge, the established dealer relationships (like Thursday Pools), and the two-location service footprint.

Where a newer or smaller competitor might beat Pettis: personalized attention on smaller projects, more aggressive pricing, and potentially faster scheduling if they have lower demand. Where Pettis wins: warranty backing on established product lines, experienced installers on complex fiberglass jobs, and a track record you can actually verify across multiple review platforms.

What to look for when comparing review scores across contractors

• Filter to reviews from the last 24 months only — older reviews may reflect different management or crew.
• Compare complaint resolution rates on BBB, not just star ratings. A 4.2 with resolved complaints beats a 4.8 with no complaint history if your project is high-value.
• Look for review volume by project type, not just overall. A contractor with 80 pool reviews and 3 patio reviews is effectively unverified for patio work.
• Check whether negative reviews describe one-off problems or systemic issues (like repeated scheduling failures or recurring change order disputes).
• Ask each contractor for references from the past 12 months on your specific project type — not from their best projects five years ago.

What to ask and what to get in writing before you hire

Before you sign anything with Pettis Pools & Patio (or any contractor), there are specific things to nail down in writing. This isn't about being difficult; it's about protecting both sides of the agreement and making sure expectations are shared clearly from day one.

1. Ask for the full written scope of work with line-item pricing — not a summary quote. Every material, model number, and finish spec should be listed.
2. Request the specific fiberglass pool model (manufacturer, dimensions, shell color) in writing, not just 'fiberglass pool.'
3. Ask who performs the work: direct employees or subcontractors? If subcontractors, ask how they're vetted and who manages them on site.
4. Request a written project timeline with milestone dates: excavation start, shell delivery, equipment installation, final inspection, and walkthrough.
5. Ask how change orders are handled: what triggers them, how they're priced, and whether you must approve them in writing before work proceeds.
6. Get the warranty terms in writing for both the pool shell (manufacturer warranty) and the installation workmanship (Pettis's own warranty). Confirm what voids each.
7. Verify their NY contractor licensing and current certificate of insurance (general liability and workers' comp) — ask for copies, not just verbal confirmation.
8. Ask for three references from projects completed in the last 12 months that match your project type and budget range.
9. Clarify the payment schedule in the contract: deposits, milestone payments, and final payment timing. Avoid any schedule that asks for more than 10-15% upfront.
10. Ask directly: what is your current backlog, and what is the realistic start date for my project given the season?

One more thing that gets overlooked: ask who your point of contact will be during construction, not just the salesperson you've been working with. The handoff between sales and the installation team is exactly where communication gaps tend to happen based on the review patterns. Getting a specific project manager name and direct phone number before signing turns that risk into something you can actually manage.