Last winter was brutal here, and after dealing with ice dams and leaks, I finally figured out a little trick that helped a ton. I used to just slap ice barriers randomly on the roof edges, thinking that'd do the trick, but nope...still had issues. Then a buddy mentioned placing them specifically along valleys and around skylights or chimneys—basically anywhere water tends to pool or flow heavily. I was skeptical at first, but gave it a shot and it made a huge difference. No more leaks or ice dams, thank god.
One thing I learned the hard way: make sure you overlap the barriers properly. Seems obvious now, but trust me, it's easy to mess up when you're freezing your fingers off on a ladder, lol. Curious if anyone else has their own tricks or hacks for ice barrier placement. I'm always looking to improve my setup before the next deep freeze hits.
Man, wish I'd seen this thread last winter when I was fighting my own ice dam battles. I made the rookie mistake of just slapping barriers along the edges too, thinking "more is better," right? Nope. Water laughed at me and found its way in anyway. Eventually realized that sealing around my chimney and dormer windows made a huge difference. Also learned to never underestimate the power of gravity—water always finds the lowest point, usually somewhere inconvenient like my living room ceiling...lesson learned, lol.