Testimonials
What our clients say about us
“Raffaele was tasked with completely transforming my unmodernised three-bed Victorian apartment. Every aspect of the Builder's trades were required, electrical, plumbing, construction, painting etc. All work was done to a high standard, with no problems occurring over the subsequent years.”
– Mr Wilson, Hampstead
“In the last 3 years, I worked extensively with Raffaele and his team. As a property consultant, my speciality is finding and managing properties in London for very demanding Italian clients; working with Raffaele always allowed me to meet their very high expectations.
Thanks to the expertise of Raffaele’s team in building, plumbing and electricity works, I have always been able to manage and solve all the different types of challenges encountered during different complex projects including meeting strict council requirements, particular architect's design and extravagant clients' desires.
Raffaele and his team are always available for any kind of job, from small repairs to big refurbishment. His availability and flexibility are key elements to maintain a good relationship with my clients. The high quality of the delivered product makes Raffaele competitive with more expensive contractors.
Despite Raffaele's strong character, I would strongly recommend City houses for any kind of intervention in your property.”
– Stefano Valenza, property manager and consultant
“Raffaele was recommended to us after finishing a substantial refurbishment at a friends house. That was now a year ago.
We called upon Raffaele and his team to undertake a complete refurbishment of our new home. The only thing that was to remain was the chimney, everything else was to be changed. Needless to say, the work done was of a very high standard and we are extremely happy with it.
Since then we have called upon him to also do much smaller, odd jobs around the house which he immediately helped us out with.
Raffaele and his team are very professional, polite and reliable. They all work hard to finish the job on time and to a high standard. We were very particular about how we wanted the flat to look like and he helped us by always bringing us various materials and samples which could work towards my requirements. Many times he also went out of his way to find a solution or an alternative.
Throughout, Raffaele has been ready to help with any issues we have had- and with a new home, there are always many. We are very happy with the work done and we continue to use his building services as and when needed.”
– Mrs Bonetto, London
“My wife and I went through an extensive redevelopment of our flat in 2015 which included the combination of two flats into one under a tight timeline imposed by the landlord.
Raffaele and his team were great: they not only are trusted and safe contractors but are always available to listen and go the extra mile to make sure we were happy, including countless weekend meetings. Raffaele has strong experience in all fields of construction work, is extremely professional and is also a pleasure to interact with.
A key advantage of City Houses vs the competitors is that Raffaele has an experienced plumber, electrician, painter, etc… all working exclusively for him as his specialist employees; this allows him flexibility and also makes sure that high-quality standards are maintained.
We would definitely recommend Raffaele and City Houses for any redevelopment work, their prices are fair (not excessive, but not below market aimed at “hooking” clients in) and we will definitely ask him to work with us again in the future.”
– Mr Antonio G., London
"Raffaele and his team have done a number of different jobs for us over the last few years; ranging from a fantastic 3m x 5m one-storey extension to much smaller odd jobs like putting up some shelves in our spare room.
What I really appreciate over and above the consistently high standard of work is that he and all of his team are polite and friendly. They always arrive on time (even early sometimes), work hard and stay until they’ve finished.
Raffaele is a hands-on manager, keeping close tabs on every job however big or small and always ensuring we’re completely happy once the work is completed.
With the extension I was very particular about how I wanted things to look, and so was very pleased when Raffaele went out of his way to find samples of different materials so that everything is exactly the way I want it.
I have already recommended him to some of my friends and family and will do so again. However perhaps I shouldn’t do it too often as I don’t want him to get too busy!"
– Mrs Lury, Harrow
“Our special thanks to Mr Raffaele Aru for his precious collaboration on our prestigious project in London.”
– Mr Marco Artosin, Bruno Zampa sales area manager
“Raffaele and his team helped us with a complete renovation of our 3 bedroom apartment in Islington – a very tired fitout from the 1970s where the internals needed to be completely redone, both cosmetic as well as all utilities. The project was our primary residence, so we wanted to be sure that we were working with a builder who would take pride in delivering to an exceptional standard.
Raffaele and his team worked tirelessly with us over three months, adjusting specifications, reacting to unforeseen issues with the 1870s architecture, and never blinking an eye as complications came and went. The attention to detail and craftsmanship of all of Raffaele’s team was exceptional. It is clear that he has assembled a handpicked team of the most capable artisans in London – plumbers, plasterers, electricians, tilers, each of them incredibly careful, enthusiastic and proud of their craft.
As we got to know Raffaele, it became clear that we were not just another job for him. The truth is that Raffaele seemed to care. While I can appreciate that it may sound contrived, Raffaele was always very deeply invested in ensuring that our project was a success and that we were happy. He really went above and beyond accommodating our requests, being flexible within the constraints of our budget, and adjusting to our needs as the project evolved.
At the end of the project, I suspect he had concluded that we weren’t the easiest clients (!), but his unfaltering support and care leave us thinking of him as more of a trusted uncle than simply as our builder. We are delighted to say that he turned our apartment into a beautiful home, and would not hesitate to recommend him in the future.”
– Max and Rachana, Islington
