IMO, soil test first.

Second, in addition to retailer, you also need to be selective about which type of seed you buy. Since it is a new house I'll assume most of the yard is full sun as you probably don't have mature trees yet. If you've planted a bunch of trees, then you need to assess whether there are going to be well shaded areas to worry about. Most varieties of KBG don't love the shade that much. If you want the really dark green color, then you are will need to purchase varieties of KBG like "Midnight", that have that possibility.

Third, be careful where you get the topsoil and compost from. There are many weed seeds that survive the digestive tract of dairy cows and other animals. If the compost was poorly prepared, such as free compost from the county landfill, then you are going to have a lawn full of weeds, especially where you have bare spots.

Top soil is the same way. There is clean top soil and dirty top soil. Some places will just scrape the topsoil off a commercial build site and resell it stuffed full of weed seeds from the field it was taken from.

How do I go about finding if the compost is well prepared? I'm new to the area and don't really know people that are well educated in soil.

This is a picture of an Elite KBG lawn along side the standard contractor grade KBG lawns.

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The picture was taken April 11. It appears that the lawn has come out of dormancy earlier than the rest but the owner, MorpheusPA, says it was only dormant for a few weeks in the winter. This lawn gets a Logan Labs test quite often to tune up the micro nutrients in the soil. This lawn also received very heavy doses of Milorganite and soybean meal on a weekly basis for the previous growing season (or was it two growing seasons). In any case you can clearly see the difference it makes having the right grass and giving it intense care. This year Morph is backing way off on the intensity of fertilizing. MorpheusPA is a member here but is much more active on another Internet lawn forum.

That was your motivational image. You can get the same results, I believe. You have to want them enough to do some extra work.

If you decide to renovate, please do not topdress with anything permanent like topsoil or sand UNLESS you have a poor drainage situation. You probably do not. The habit of topdressing a homeowner lawn is a leading cause of me coming out to your home and taking pictures which will ultimately use to mock you. For example, here's one now...

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This owner has been topdressing "1/4 inch every year" and he's a very old guy. Rather than having a lawn which is mostly level with the surrounding concrete, he's had to build a barrier around the edges to contain the excess topsoil. While it is good to have a little bit of a crown in the middle of the yard, this is ridiculous! I should mention that I'm only talking about the mound in the hell strip. The original homes were built up on those pads to keep them out of flood waters which have since been contained with a local dam. But anyway don't topdress. It is not needed.

If you choose to use compost, the way to test it for doneness is to smell it. It should smell very fresh like a forest floor after a spring rain. It should also not have any recognizable chunks in it. Good compost is screened down to 1/4 inch. The best is double screened.

If you want to get started now (not a bad idea), you can apply the Milorganite and/or rabbit chow any time without interfering with the TruGreen apps. They all work independently of each other. You might find soybean meal to be less expensive than Rabbit Chow.

By the way you should be mowing about 3 inches high - no lower. In the deep heat you can let it go to 4.

Jandrus,

My experience is that any cheap/free compost from the local landfill is a nightmare. They usually don't screen it very well, so it's horrible for top dressing. But more importantly, one of the main ingredients is everything that the local homeowners didn't want in their yards. If that stuff isn't COMPLETELY broken down then it is literally packed with weed seed.

There are a lot of dairy farms here, so dairy compost is easy to come by. Pretty sure that Michigan has dairy farms too. Chicken farms produce a good poultry compost, but he makeup is different than dairy. Some people use mushroom compost. Once you've gotten a soil test, it is pretty simple to figure out which type of compost is more suited to your soil needs. It's pretty simple to call around to some sod farms too. Ask them which compost suppliers are the most reputable.

Actually I should have said that I am not a huge fan of compost. Where I live the cost is about $70 per 1,000 square feet whereas the cost of organic fertilizer is more like $3 per 1,000 square feet. You can buy a LOT of fertilizer for $70 per 1,000. I think the bang for the buck goes easily with real fertilizer. Compost is not fertilizer.

Thank you all for your tips and advice.

New question. I've been reading a lot on lawn care forum's these days and I'm reading more and more NOT to core aerate and to liquid aerate instead. Thoughts?