First, thanks for coming in to offer some advice. Here is the lowdown. 8x12 patio with a stair attachment. The stairs is what I'm worried about the most.

Here is a view of the back door and the drop off that we have.

This is a close up with some measurements.

We thought about doing some precast stairs but decided to save on cost (hahahaha) and build them ourselves. The idea is to use cinder blocks as a base for the same 1'x1' pavers which would be the step itself.

Here is the idea currently in place. (The top paver would be almost touching the bottom lip of the siding that is right below the brown trim.) There are a few big issues for me to begin with.

First is how much gravel and sand we need to put down as our base. My gf talked to a friend who used to be a GC and he said 2" of crushed gravel would suffice, without the need for sand. I don't know how I feel about that, I feel like I read a lot people going deeper but time and money are coming into play. We dug that damn thing out by hand. It was like busting through concrete it was so dry and difficult (we're in West Texas).

The second is how close we are to the house without anchoring it at all to it. GC friend said no need to and that it would actually be a bad thing due to the stress applied to the house. Though I don't want a big gap and I already don't like having the height of the first stair just a few inches from the door, it's obviously a short step. "Well just do one stair", she wants two, I tried.

Beyond whatever laughter or advice you have, what I want to know is how much gravel/sand do I actually need to put down. I sure as fuck don't want to go out and dig some more but I'd rather get it done right. Any advice would be a huge help. I don't want to end up like the deck guy (I feel so bad he has to take that down).