From pallets to welcome entrance

We both agreed that the entrance was the first thing that needed to be done, as we had suffered on our temporary staircase from EU pallets and exposed ground pipes.... In addition to making the entrance more user-friendly, we also wanted to tidy up the adjacent surfaces. The project includes a granite staircase to the entrance, a retaining wall between the garage and the house, 2 cast stairs, 1 granite staircase up to the back, paving and construction of 2 flower boxes. Finally, the snowball would be set in motion!

In parallel with the arrival of the first delivery from the stone company, foundation work is being carried out for the retaining wall between the garage and house as well as the first concrete staircase.

The remaining ground stone, several granite steps and the 550 kg entrance step arrive! Starting to get crowded on the driveway for all the building materials! The retaining wall is starting to be built and the first concrete stairs are poured.

A few days into the project and things start to take off in earnest.
The first "flower box" is starting to take shape. There will be a lot of digging when stone and mud (mostly mud!) must be removed to prepare for laying paving stones behind the garage. The second concrete staircase will also be in place. Our "dear" EU pallets that we have lived with now for over a year are finally being removed.
Finally, reality begins to reveal that there really can be an entrance out of it all!

The 2 elevations in front of the entrance are separated with a molded heel and graveled off
Now it was finally time to get the real eye candy! The 2m wide (and 270kg heavy!) granite steps were a challenge to get in place. Partly because the width between garage and wall is 210 cm and then there was the weight itself. 4 people and one small step at a time was the winning recipe!
A good tip in general is to double check all heights so that you can maintain the correct slopes. In our case, there was a discussion about whether 3 steps would be enough or if we needed 4. Because of this, the first step came last.

With the stairs in place, we had reached the paving at the entrance. We wanted to be done with this part as soon as possible as there is a proper step up to the door and that the vacuum cleaner would not have to be brought out every day for all the dirt and mud.. As paving stones we chose Ocala gray for its discreet color but interesting shape variation .

More Ocala stones will be in place when the entrance is finished. In one of the pictures you can also see the classically stylish top stones and the granite stair cladding. Incidentally, these piles caused a 3-day long back shot with the following break in construction (or life in general).. Remember to lift ergonomically and avoid loading deep into the drawer!..

Multiple ideas were floated about whether the 550kg entrance step would ever come into place. Far too many kilos too heavy and too "tight" to access with the heavy machinery.. The solution was a truck with a brave driver who managed to get close enough to reach with the truck crane. With all the lights still anchored in the wall, finally the entrance step came so close that it could be baxed in the last few centimeters. A very important point as this beast had barricaded most of the driveway for a long time.

All paving stones at the entrance are now finished. Paving stone details around the garage door are being finished.
All walls receive plaster and top stones in granite.
It took a number of turns with the car to get home the solid top stones. The discussions were heated whether we should have a 3 cm thick variant or a slightly more stable one that was 7 cm. Very happy that we chose the thicker variety, it certainly turned out well!

Paving stones are laid on the plateau behind the garage. Here we chose a discreet 350x350x50 slab. It took a lot of work to make the transition from top stone to ground stone