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My house is on a sloping block that (face on) lowers from left to right nd back to front.
The front door opens onto a brick porch with concrete surface
The porch is approximately 1 metre high at the door end and 1.2m high at the other, with 3 steps leading up at the end to the roof of the garage, which used to be a deck but is now just roof.
The porch is approximately 1.5 metres wide by about 4 metres long + about a metre for the steps.
The house is about 55 years old and I believe that the porch is original and the paint on the concrete just as old. - In places there is virtually bare concrete but there are also areas where the paint seems relatively sound.
I don't want to acid etch if I can avoid it but neither do I want to do the job only to have the paint peel later. However, as I have this mix of painted, reasonably smooth, (though thin) concrete patches with other rough bare concrete I'm not sure what to do.
Should I attempt to etch just the painted parts?
Is there a primer that I could simply put over the whole area?
Is there a coloured sealer that I could put over the whole area?
Any advice as to the best way to go, I would greatly appreciate.
Looks sensation to me, @nonsibicunctis! Well done, and many thanks for sharing your results; I trust they will greatly inspire others to consider giving this a go.
Mitchell
I struggle with the same issues and am very critical of my own work @nonsibicunctis. I've learnt over the years that a perfect result is not really achievable and there will always be something, despite how insignificant it might be, that can seem to spoil the job. You've taken an aged and degraded surface and given it a fresh new coating that looks fantastic by any standards. It's a job well done and you should be proud of your efforts.
I can't wait to see what you tackle next!
Mitchell
@MitchellMc and @nonsibicunctis
I usually play "spot the mistakes" with my jobs lol But really the bylaw is... The job is done where before it was not 
And any mistake we can spot we can live with otherwise we would have changed it With both these ideas I shrug and just appreciate the work and effort that I have done
We beat ourselves up far too easily. We should have a competition on "Best mistake" we have done
Dave
Here are some more images from during and after the building of the fence.
I used old recycled 150 x 50 (approx) rafters to make the fence posts. They took some cleaning up but I found that flap disks made the job relatively easy & gave me a reasonable finish. I split them down the middle with a circular saw thus making 75 x 50 posts. I don't know what actual wood it is but it is certainly hardwood and like rock after being around for 60 or 70 years!
The verandah is narrow so I decided to fix the posts to the outside front of it by drilling and using concrete screws. I also attached them with galvanised steel angles to the floor of the verandah on the inside using galvanised dynabolts.
The horizontal slats are recycled from old decking boards, again in fairly poor condition before rejuvenation but relatively sound save for being full of rusty nails and occasional pits and holes. I filled all of those and sanded to get a good surface. I used chemically protected screws to fix the slats to the hardwood posts. I had to drill first because of the hardness of the posts but then it was relatively easy to put the screws in.
The hand rails are merbau timber fixed with small steel angle brackets on the underside of the rail and each side of every post with galvanised screws.
After cleaning up, all the timber was given two coats of undercoat and two top-coats of good quality paint. I prefer to paint before assembly rather than after so that there are no joints where there is bare wood. Any small scratches or whatever after assembly are easily taken care of with a little touching up.
The biggest difficulty I had was dealing with the sloping area of the fence alongside the steps and also the side closest to the house as the window ledge buts out from the side of the house. I solved that side by fixing a hardwood block, using masonry screws and an angle bracket to the house wall at the corner where the house wall met the first step. I then fastened the post at the bottom to that hardwood block and the verandah floor using galvanised angle brackets. Where the post passes the window ledge jutting out, I used a Pryda connector from post to the wood of the window frame just to give extra stability. The fixing of the slats and railing also helped provide additional stability and the end fencing is thus quite stiff and sound.
The fence is taller than I'd really like because I built it in adherence with the building regulations which require that it be at least a metre high because of the drop from the verandah floor to the ground beyond. However, the height is not too bad when sitting out there.
I'm currently renovating some old director's chairs for use out there. I have a query about those in another post.
Images of the finished job show how it is - not the greatest build but it is strong and makes the verandah safer and, I think, doesn't look too bad from the street. I hope it is of interest to someone, if not, please excuse me.
Afternoon @nonsibicunctis
That really has come up nicely Looks good and does the job and love the fact you have recyled things wherever you could! Win, win, winner!
You have the same colour of paint that I used for my patio Was there a reason you chose it? I was going to go for a darker paint but then found out about the reflective rating for various paints and figured id rather go lighter and have less heat being absord by the concrete slab then a darker more stylish grey.
Dave
Thank you for posting that update. The new fence looks fantastic. It's an excellent transformation and gives your porch a brand-new look.
Eric
