In many of the photos on the North American Tile site the waterproofing membrane being used is Schluter Kerdi. This is a very good product but when you are using it to waterproof a shower curb or to cover a shower bench the over lapped layers can become thick causing additional prep to feather out from the thickened areas or you have to build up the thin set at you are trying to set the tile. It can also be cumbersome to to work with the sheets while trying to make the mutiple folds of the sheet and then keep all of the layers flat.

What are your thoughts on using liquid systems or liquid and mesh systems in shower applications? (Products such as Laticrete's 9235 or Hydro Ban, Mapei's HPG or Aqua Defense, Custom Building Products Red Gard) These product are very easy to apply and when dry these products are very tough.

It would seem the only draw back to these liquid products is that you would have to wait for it do dry before setting the tile, but on most jobs there is enough other work to do so you are not losing time waiting for it to dry.

My preference is to use liquid membranes. The sheet types do provide the ultimate barrier with the one big drawback, multiple overlap buildups. In some cases this can be problematic when working with certain types of tile.

The new HydroBan and Mapei Aqua Defense basically dry in one hour if temperature and humidity conditions are ideal. Inside corner edges still take some time to dry out even at the ideal climatic range.

Bottom line is, you use whats appropriate for your installation methods and the requirements of the job.