Definitely epoxy the floor. Do not use flakes. They look good in pictures but smaller dropped hardware becomes hard to find.
A decade of working on bare concrete will have so much oil soaked in that you'll get filthy just walking on it. Epoxy not only cleans up spills easier but even just...
.
A chain will look better than a downspout, BUT,
it will collect a lot of ice (100's of lbs??).
Is it on the sunny side of the house? That would help a lot.
.
.
It's 90F out side right now at noon w a DP 0f 72. NWS is predicting another 12 deg rise bef EOD. And a low of 77! tonight.
Dare I say, " I miss the winter",,,
.
.
We used to use this stuff at work to mark test equipment. You have to spray clear Rust-Oleum over it if you want it to last any amount of time.
https://pcbsupplies.com/rub-on-letters-chartpak-fls/
.
.
Being in Flint, I would want at least a 2 ft stem wall. 3 would be even better. To keep the rain splashes and snow off the wooden walls. That's why your sill plates are rotted.
.