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We have done a little bit of this work.
Our stone dealer reccomends a latex mortar. Do you have frost? We use Kera-bond & Kera-lastic. It is a thinset mortar. It is pricy but has a nice bit of flex. The flex helps when the bluestone expands in the heat.
We have found that pattern gauged thermal bluestone, works well. It costs more but you can set it a little easier, you won't have to lift the stone to pack a little more mortar, which is hard to do.
You should clean your stoop with a pressure washer if you can, the latex sticks well so you don't have to scrub with muriatic acid.
There are dozens of mortar colors you can mix in. Go to the local brick yard or concrete supplier. They will have it.
We grout with a ziplock bag with a hole cut in the corner. Then we use a pointing trowel to key it in. Then we wipe the edges with a spounge. We have not had to clean with acid. Last year a new guy from a tile background mixed the grout loose and threw it into the joints, then wiped. Messy but it worked.
I have heard of a "grout release" agent that you put on the stones so the grout cleans easier.
What are you going to use on the risers?
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