"HK" wrote in message
.. .
Thanks for all the great advice.

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.



Most lawns are able to survive drought and return to health in the fall.
Personally I haven't watered my lawn in years. What fools most homeowners is
the fact that the bugs usually take the lawn at the same time as it is going
dormant from the summer heat and drought. Then in the fall, when the weather
cools and rain returns other lawns in the area recover and theirs doesn't.
In 98% of the lawns that I have seen that fail to recover in the fall it is
the insects that have taken the lawn.

If there is one lesson I learned in the Lawn Care business it was " Always "
suspect an insect first.

Peter H