ᐅ Natural Stone Seating Area

I am planning to create a solid reinforced concrete foundation on the patio.
On top of this, I want to install natural stones (rounded) into the wet concrete layer (or possibly using a special adhesive).
I want stones of various sizes, both large and small, either collected or sourced from elsewhere.
This will obviously result in a very uneven surface, which I intend to grind down with a diamond blade after the concrete has cured to make the floor level.
I suspect the main issue will be that the stones might come loose during grinding.
So far, I have never seen a floor like this, probably because it is too expensive or labor-intensive. However, I can well imagine that there are adhesives or concrete mixes that provide strong bonding for the stones.
Does anyone have experience with this or can offer professional advice regarding the procedure and choice of materials?
Thanks in advance. Regards, aqua

You are correct in assuming that this will be quite a time-consuming task. In addition, you seem to be overestimating the capabilities (and costs) of diamond grinding wheels. Variations of 5mm (0.2 inches) from stone to stone, which can certainly occur with reclaimed materials, cannot be evened out using a grinding wheel.

You can set the stones of varying heights into a reasonably thick mortar bed, 35-50mm (1.4-2 inches), and level them during installation, so that only a fine grinding will be needed afterwards.

Do not underestimate the volume and physical strain caused by grinding dust, or—if grinding wet—the amount of grinding slurry.

First of all, thank you very much for your response. However, I think I was not fully understood. A 5 mm (0.2 inch) difference from stone to stone will hardly be enough. I want to achieve a very specific look for the floor! Therefore, I want stones with diameters of about 50 to 150 mm (2 to 6 inches). Of course, some leveling can be done during installation, but I am definitely expecting a grinding process of around 70 mm (3 inches)! Otherwise, the floor will never have the appearance I am aiming for. With a suitable diamond blade, this is certainly possible. I have already worked on a concrete floor on a smaller scale using an angle grinder with a diamond blade/cutter. Those differences were up to 10 mm (0.4 inch) that needed to be evened out.

I can well imagine that with the right equipment this must be possible. I am not overestimating the costs; I am just cautious about the expenses.

When I rent a machine with diamond tooling, I usually pay for the material removal caused by the diamond blade. And it is exactly this material removal that I do not know. A diamond blade of the appropriate diameter costs several thousand...

Diamond grinding discs, I have been told, last about 2 hours when grinding hard natural stone. However, I do not know how many stones you can grind with them. Before grinding off 70mm (2.8 inches), you should saw the stone to the desired thickness first and then grind it as needed.

My brother also built a seating area made of natural stone. It looks good in the end, but it is a lot of work. That mortar is unpleasant to work with. It also took him a long time to finish everything.

A natural stone seating area may look nice, but what aqua plans to do is quite crazy. He wants to grind down up to 70 mm (3 inches) of natural stone, and that will be very challenging. Some time ago, I ground down up to 8 mm (0.3 inches) of natural stone and almost failed. It’s hard, dirty work and physically very demanding.