novaplantguy, over the years I have gone the gammit from your situation, to an acre and back again. Some ways that I have kept my fingers dirty are Hydroponics units and artificial light gardens. My hydroponic units (with artificial lighting) work great for fresh herbs and salad plants, while my light gardens grow anything from begonias to ferns to orchids. I have found or made light gardens to fit into any decore and every conceivable nook. Ever filled your house with the wonderful perfume of Hyacinths and Daffodils? It's easy to do and doesn't require any garden at all. Feel free to contact me for more ideas and information.

I already know what I'm dealing with in my builder. Unfortunately my banker basically refused to allow me to fire him months and months ago when I first became fully aware that he really knew less about building a house than I do. Banker was concerned that if I fired him we would wind up in litigation and the house would never get finished. Since then I've been trying to make sure things get done right but then he pulls another stupid trick (like this one) that it never occurred to me to warn him against doing before he could do it. Question now is: Will the windows all need to be removed so the sill plates can be cleaned out? That would probably involve removing and replacing all the Hardie trim around the windows which as already been painted. Anyone know if it might be possible to reach in with something like a dental tool and break up and remove all that polyseal?

Yes, Sophie, that's very helpful! So I am calling it a sill but it's actually the stool; and the wood one that was removed is notched just like in the above diagram with an apron below. So it is the stool I want made of granite but I need a way to attach it without needing and apron. My DH said maybe the idea of the fabricator drilling countersunk holes in the back may work (thanks, Mama goose_gw) if he can then attach pins to the sill from underneath to slide and glue the granite on to. We would probably still use a bullnose tile underneath the granite for some extra support. Unless someone else has another idea?

Here is what I would likely try (assuming I understand correctly -- that there are only a few that are this bad; that under all that built up paint and mildew there is metal, not wood; and that you want to have the finished pain surface look even and neat and stay looking nice. I would not worry about tape/adhesive marks and would put away the WD40. I would make the time and space to have everyone out of my way and to have a good exhaust ventilation and tarps/drop clothes and shop vac set up along with proper eye, ear, possibly respirator (definitely some airway protection and disposable as well as heavy duty neoprene gloves. i would spend the time and effort to remove all of the built up crud -- so removing tape marks is a non issue. If I understand your gunk problem, you'll be removing the years of old paint and sludge underlying the tape adhesive marks. I'd first try to chip, chisel, dremel, grind and sand off anything that I could without damaging the steel underneath. Vacuum that all up, wire brush and try to remove more. Vacuum again. Then, following the manufacturer's direction and with proper ventilation and tools and protection as discussed above, I would begin applying the "best" (most effective, lowest VOH paint stripper remover I could get. What you use would depend upon a few factors and the types of paints in that cracked sludgy stack. You'll want to protect yourself floors and adjacent areas. You can use layer of rosen paper atop a tarp and and the paper gets messy, swap out. Have some chip brushes, steel scrapers and gougy tools and some disposable paint pail liners to toss the scraped off partially disolved old paint into. (Dispos of properly as it will be flammable. Just keep working on dissolving the old paint, scraping it free, repeat...until you get almost all if not all of it off. It's work and messy. Then, after what you cannot get off has dried and 'cured' a bit, you can try to sand and scrape the rest free. You may be able to do some of this outdoors. You may want to hire someone to do this part for you. I have removed old alkyd paint this way, then, in the case of a large, pick wick bead board back bookcase, washed it with TSP (Tri-sodium phosphate --- there may be restrictions on its use or availability from state to state). Let that remain a while, then rinse off with clear water. Allow to dry thoroughly. If only working indoors, you can use terry rags, pails and poly plastic drop clothes with "towel / rag dams" to protect your flooring. Allow the project to dry well. Shop AC dry, towel dry, dry nooks with hair dryer. You don't want to create rust and you will want to treat / remove any existing rust. I would do all of this way before even considering priming and painting or addressing the opportunity for condensation. A faster and less messy way to address all the gunk might be to pay someone with a sand abrasion set up. It may be costly. Perhaps you can barter. Ask around at some auto body shops or vocational schools. Best of luck. It will look so much better when you get it cleaned up. One trick to help with condensation is to consider a dehumidifier or a small fan. Always went cooking kettles and dishwashers with a kitchen exhaust fan. Always run your bath and shower exhaust fans for 15 or 20 minutes after shower use. In the winter or fall, we sometimes crack a window and let some of the very dry winter air (New England) come in and exchange with moist air. If in the fall or early winter and you have a lot of moisture in your house from a humid fall or late summer, be careful about keeping your rooms too cool until a lot of that moisture wicks out of porous walls and floors. We've got a tight house, so have to mind the level of condensation growing on cold Windows (we don't have the best windows). If you have a house full of large dogs, you're apt to get a lot of condensation.