Ava, I think the branch manager meant, if the concrete is raw or unpainted - then it is porous, once it is painted with any type of paint including an acrylic epoxy paint it is no longer porous. Therefore the type of sealer I would use would be different than if I had used a stain on the concrete - with a stain the concrete is stil porous but with an acrylic epoxy the concrete becomes non porous. Since that time I talked with the woman who originally put this treatment on her restaurant floor and she used an oil based varathane. However, I am going to use a water based or acrylic based varathane on mine. I have talked to several people and the water based sealer has less of a tendency to yellow than the oil based. Also I am thinking if I want to change the color or redo the concrete floor in the future, then I am thinking it will be less troublesome to redo a floor with a water based product. One point - I have tried using varathane with a roller before and it tends to put little bubbles in the finish, so I am going to use a flat sponge to apply the varathane. The woman doing the restaurant floor used a flat applicator to apply the varathane too. I am going to try my garage floor this week and will let you know how it turns out.

That your existing concrete is in good shape is key. Any crack in it would transfer through to the new material. So long as you create proper finish levels, you should be in good shape. Stamped concrete can look terrific. It's biggest drawback is the color not being integral to the slab, but just surface treatment. This is really no problem unless it is subject to harsh wear, which in this instance is probably not going to be the case. If the surface gets a chip or gouge, you'll see near-white concrete below. In most residential situations, it doesn't get that harsh of treatment.

I think you missed my initial questions at the top. I said I need help starting, which means that I don't have a plan yet; I'm trying to develop one. This is our first project for the house besides minor interior changes; I don't know where the right place to start even IS. If you're saying to start with my city building department then that's helpful, but I'm not sure what you mean. I don't know anyone that has hired an engineer for house building. Architects, yes, but why do I need an engineer? Sammy, I appreciate the schematic. I'd be interested in seeing if that would be a good alternative if it would be infeasible to use the slab directly. If it needs footers like Anglophilia did, but it wasn't installed with them, then it may be the best option. Maybe I need to rephrase for those that keep asking about my plans: Has anybody had a screen porch built over a slab (not deck), whether they did it themselves or hired a contractor? What is a good starting point? My plan is that I want a screen porch, and I have a slab. Do I start with the city building department before looking at anything else, or talk to contractors? What kinds of questions should I be ready to ask or answer?

Since the patio space is not drawn in, we can’t tell if it’s big enough to hold your “small table and chairs and fire pit.” If you are talking about the space where the words Patio at Grade are printed, between the screen porch and the dinette with the bay window, then no, that’s not enough space for those things. A table and chairs outside will need as much space as the screen porch, approximately. Plus a fire pit needs LOTS of empty space around it.