You know the deal—it’s inevitable. You see a simple, straightforward job, calculate your labor and materials costs, and whistle your favorite Four Tops song as you get to work. 

But half an hour in, that whistle stops. Rage and confusion set in as your carefully calculated costs get tossed out the window. What looked like a basic project has become a full-blown nightmare. 

Real-World Failure Costs: When “Simple” Gets Complicated 

Welcome to my life last week. 

A simple “replace some rotten deck boards” project turned quickly into a “replace the whole deck, including support structure, dig out 4 inches of thick orange clay, and build a retaining wall to redirect water” project.  

Sound familiar? These failure costs add up—and it’s not just in home improvement. 

When IT Shortcuts Go Wrong 

Let’s bring this into the IT world. We’ve seen more than a few cases where a lack of preparation caused serious problems that could’ve been avoided with a little foresight or a quick call to a professional. 

Take one church, for example. They needed a rapid IT upgrade to livestream a large funeral. Who did they tap for the job? Of course, they turned to the person who was best equipped to handle such a demand – the youth pastor / seminary student. Dutifully, the youth pastor climbed into the ceiling, began to uncoil and zip tie the cable in place, and then proceeded to fall through the ceiling into the church office. One seemingly straightforward job resulted in a more expensive project (and potentially more dangerous, although our brave youth pastor was fine). 

The fix? Costly repairs, a delayed project, and a bruised youth pastor. 

The 500-Foot Ethernet Cable That Killed the Network 

In another case, a church needed to expand its network connection. This time, no ceilings were harmed. However, over the following weeks and months, the staff noticed increasingly worse internet speeds and network connection issues.

Turns out, someone had run a 500-foot Ethernet cable—well beyond the recommended 328-foot limit for Cat 5e/6 cabling. That small decision led to months of frustrating IT issues that no one could initially explain. 

These are classic examples of duct tape IT: improvised solutions that seem cheaper at first but lead to much higher failure costs over time. 

Why DIY Fixes Can Cost More in the Long Run 

These stories highlight a basic truth: doing it yourself can feel resourceful, but it’s often more expensive in the end. Failure costs can include: 

  • Unexpected labor 
  • Hardware replacements 
  • Lost productivity 
  • Downtime 
  • Repairing damaged trust with clients or teams 

What My Rotten Porch Taught Me About IT Infrastructure 

Let’s go back to that porch. 

The rot wasn’t accidental—it was caused by poor initial planning. The original builder (a DIYer) didn’t leave enough space between the ground and the wood and didn’t channel water away properly. Everything else looked fine, and he did MUCH of the build very well. But a few unseen issues doomed the structure from the start, and while it seemed to work fine for a few years, its lifespan ended years earlier than it should have (not to mention the safety issues…). 

Just like in IT, infrastructure matters. It doesn’t matter if everything looks fine on the surface. If the foundation is flawed, the whole system is vulnerable. 

Plan Smart, Spend Less: Hire Professionals Upfront 

As good, red-blooded Americans, we pride ourselves on rolling up our sleeves and solving problems ourselves. But when small errors compound into large-scale disasters, you end up spending more time, money, and frustration cleaning up the mess. 

That’s why hiring a professional IT service provider from the start isn’t just smart—it’s cost-effective. 

So before you climb into the ceiling or run a cable too far, ask yourself:
Is this the best way to handle it, or is this duct tape IT creeping in?