"JNJ" wrote in message
...
What killed my lawn was about 4 weeks of neglect last summer while we
were
on vacation. The vacation coincided with an extreme heat wave and
drought.
Most of my lawn died as a result. I thought it would come back in the
fall
but it didn't. This spring, what came up was a ton of weeds. I'd say
50%
of my lawn is dead and the rest of the lawn is weedy. I have about 15%
of
good grass. If I renovate the dead and weedy areas, I figure it will
take
much more effort and expense than a complete replacement.

I plan to take my soil in for analysis to fix any problems.

I plan to install an automated sprinkler system when I've removed the
old
sod to prevent any drought-related problems in the future.

Also, I have an additional complication that factors into my decision
to
re-sod. I have two young kids. There is no way I can keep them off the
grass while I reseed, weed and feed, etc. I can keep them off the grass
for
2 weeks at the most.

Get a sod cutter to remove the old sod, weeds included. Add compost
throughout the area and rototill well. Add new sod over the area and
water.
That should do it well. You can also pull any weeds that survive the
initial de-sodding.

James



This is a ton of work and likely unnecessary.

Peter H