Advice? Stone Steps

VAviaCo

I need to replace 6x6's buried in the ground with stone steps. Having built a lot of steps from wood I'm fine on figuring heights etc. but I have very little experience working with stone.
I have heard to use gravel for drainage and to set the stone in sand.
The drop is 6 feet in 16 feet lateral. (for one of 3 sections)
Do I need to lay a bed of gravel and then sand and then stack the stones?
I think the customer leans towards dry (no mortar) construction.
She wants real rocks, not concrete made to look like rock. I've found some at the garden/farm center. Can these be cut or chipped to fit at all or must I make do with the sizes/shapes provided?


Any tips/stories/links would be greatly appreciated.
Or guess on how long a newbs going to need to do this.

CJKarl

Is this built into a hill side? If so I would stack up old curbing.

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VAviaCo

Yeah its up a hillside.
What is old curbing?

VAviaCo

The customer specified natural rock.
I submitted a quote that amounts to about $20/sq ft and haven't heard back so it's hard to say at this point.