We have a 20' x 15' Florida room (covered patio) at the back of our house and I'm unsure which way to go about putting something over the plain concrete floor. My initial thought had been to put down an appropriate outdoor tile that would give a firm grip even when wet, but I have one concern. Some years ago one of my dogs took to borrowing under the slab and before I became full aware of the extent to which she had dug it out the slab settled a bit and cracked across a couple of points on the slab. I used a bunch of car jacks to level it all back up, packed the hole with rocks and dirt, and haven't had any issues since - the slab hasn't budged since the repair and the cracks I repaired haven't opened up at all. My concern though is that if I tile the area and the cracked areas settle even slightly again the tile might crack or come loose, unless I use some of the more flexible thinset that allows for a little movement, like on wooden floors. The other alternative is to simply paint the concrete with something that adds a bit of a textured finish to the concrete. Problem seems to be that some are only designed to bond to concrete that's been brushed, not floated. I was considering something like Behr's Deckover, which can also be used on concrete, but I'm a bit worried how well it will bond to the surface even if I prep it well. Any thoughts?

Looking at building a 20' x 12' pergola, I'd like your opinion: When my 10' horizontal support beams meet at the midway (6 x 6) post, there's only half of the width of that post to share with each horizontal support beam ... and not enough area (IMO) for proper use of lag screws. Would it be a better plan to notch all my 6 x 6 posts in order for the horizontal support beams to have a platform on which to rest?