Flipping Fellers November 2023 Newsletter

Project Update

River Haven Gets a Facelift: Scenic Views and Outdoor Delights

by Amy Feller

We are so excited to share one of our biggest projects this year and a HUGE announcement!! (No we are not having another baby.) Dusty built an AMAZING deck at our River Haven cabin!! Rebuilding the deck at our Mississippi River cabin truly transformed the backyard.

In order to get through the city approval process quicker, we chose to keep the same footprint and use the existing frame of the old deck. The old deck had huge planters along the top railing and benches blocking a majority of the River views and heavily weighing down the railings. Removing the planters and the benches and using a cable rail design amplifies the picturesque scenery of the Mississippi and makes the deck feel so spacious! Now you can really embrace the scenic Mississippi River and enjoy an elevated outdoor living experience.

Whether it’s a peaceful morning coffee, or an evening of stargazing, the deck at the River Haven cabin is the perfect place to relax and connect with nature. If you are interested in renting this awesome place out, it’s AVAILABLE TO RENT!!

The River Haven Cabin is now live on AIRBNB. Click on the link in the newsletter to get all the details. Contact me directly for friends and family specials!!

We have really enjoyed renovating this cabin and making memories with our family and now it’s your turn. We are so excited to share this place with you. Stay at the River Haven and create lasting memories against nature's backdrop and enjoy a place where serenity meets adventure. Did we mention – it’s less than an hour from the cities!

Deck transformation:

Contractor's Corner

How to Avoid the Holiday Backup

By Dusty Feller

We recently had a bit of a “crappy” situation at one of our rental properties. I thought this would be a good place to get down to business and help other people avoid a costly sewer

backup.

As a property owner, one of the most unpleasant and potential costly issues you may encounter is a sewer mainline backup. How do you avoid a backup, what are the signs of a back up and what do you do when you’ve got a situation?

How do you avoid a backup? Drink plenty of water and stay hydrated. This is good advice in any holiday situation. Especially when you are dealing with your pipes. If you have a toilet that doesn’t get flushed or a shower that you never use – make sure to give it a little flush every couple weeks and run the water.

NEVER - I repeat NEVER FLUSH a “FLUSHABLE” wipe. They are not flushable and they are every plumbers nightmare. If you remember one thing from this article – this is it. Many wipes do not disintegrate quickly enough to avoid clogging pipes and causing backups. Dispose of wipes properly in the trash instead.

Signs of a backup … or the start of one. Unpleasant sewer smell coming from your pipes. Two inches of smelly water in your basement. Slow drains, unexplained lush spots in your yard, bubbling and gurgling noises and one plumbing fixture acting up when you use another. All of these things can be signs of a backup.

What if I’m already in a situation? Call a plumber that specializes in drain and sewer mainline cleanout. Hopefully they can clear the situation, snake your line and find the root of the problem.

Then you’ll probably need to do some extensive cleaning. Bleach and cold water are the best way to go to sanitize. Dry and sanitize whatever you can. If you do have a lot of damage to finished spaces, you can hire companies to do the remediation for you. An insurance claim is also an option if it’s really bad.

The holiday season often brings an increased usage of toilets due to gatherings and guests. This surge in activity can put additional strain on your plumbing system, potentially leading to backups if not managed effectively. Let’s get through this holiday season back up free – take proactive steps to keeps things flowing. Prevention is always better than dealing with the aftermath of a costly, stinky and messy backup.

After writing this, we had another incident and sh*t really hit the fan. We had another back up that couldn’t be cleared. Our old house still had a P-Trap on the Main line which was completely rotted out and clogged with sewage and Flushable Wipes. We had the P-Trap removed and the line snaked and scoped. There were lots of tree roots that had to be cleared and we found out we also have multiple branches coming into our line from other houses. To avoid future costly backups, we will be doing yearly maintenance cleanouts to make sure the roots don’t take over our line!

Feller Favorites

By Amy Feller

I’m sharing a classic Thanksgiving recipe from my family this month. Wild Rice has been a staple at our family holiday for as long as I can remember. It’s not Duty’s favorite, so I jazzed it up a little this year! If you are looking for something very Minnesota to add to your holiday menu, you can’t go wrong. You can make this ahead and It’s even better day 2 for leftovers!

Wild Rice Casserole

Ingredients

1 can consume

1/2 cup cooked, diced celery

2 cups wild rice

1 medium onion diced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/4 lb butter

3-4 strips of bacon cooked & chopped

salt & pepper to taste

Recipe

Wash wild rice and soak in water overnight. Cover wild rice with water. Rice will absorb water. Boil rice in consume until tender, adding water as needed to keep the rice covered in liquid. This can take 1-2 hours. You are looking for a majority of the rice to pop open. Then keep boiling for 15 more minutes. Fry onions in 1 Tbsp butter until clear. Brown mushrooms in butter. Microwave chopped celery in water for 4 minutes to soften. Cook bacon as directed & chop. Combine all ingredients, dot with butter and bake in a very slow (350 degrees) oven for 15 minutes. Very slow comes from the original recipe. Enjoy!

Meet the Flipping Fellers

Hi There!

If you don't already know us, we are Dusty and Amy Feller. We are the Flipping Fellers. We are real-estate investors, flippers and a realtor/general contractor team! We love to share our own projects. We also love to work with homeowners like you.

Dusty is a General Contractor who basically grew up on a jobsite. He uses his construction and manufacturing experience to run organized and streamlined projects. Amy is a Realtor and helps run Feller Contracting. With a background in construction project management, she specializes in listings that need a little extra work and repairs before they go on the market.

We have 2 little girls and a chocolate lab named Yogi that keep us busy outside of work. We love the outdoors, skiing, biking, hiking, camping and all things Minnesota has to offer. Thanks for following our crazy adventures!

-The Fellers