I think the trend will be that the climate will be warming before it begins cooling. With that in mind, warm season grasses are going to be preferred in the transition zone, which you are in the Southernmost part of. You can hate your bermuda, beat it to death and use that as an excuse to plant fescue. Then to keep it alive in the increasingly warm climate, you will water it far more frequently than would be necessary for a warm season grass growing in a warm region.

Be that as it may, Kentucky 31 is a weed compared to any other kind of fescue. Other fescues are separated into turf-type and pasture fescues. All the turf types will be nicer than K31. The state of the art of fescue plants is a fast moving target.

For many years the problem with Tall fescue in the southeast -was/is brown patch disease. Plant breeders have done a good job developing varieties that have resistance , and also improved heat tolerance. The new 'Rebel' blends are supposed to be good, and also 'Titan RX' . You will have to spend the whole summer getting rid of the bermuda - for a fall planting of Tall fescue. You will probably have to spray 'Round up' 3 times ( a month apart) to get 95% control........... K-31 is an older variety, but has good brown patch resistance because of its more open canopy. Its more like pasture grass compared to other improved types. The newer types look very similar to Kentucky bluegrass.

Thanks for responding. I was thinking of having some come out and use a Bobcat to "turn under" the Bermuda turf. Any thoughts on that.

So, after I kill the Bermuda with Roundup, should I put a layer of top soil over the dead Bermuda or should I till up the dead Bermuda before putting down the Fescue

It depends on the condition of the soil. If you are able to jump on a shovel and get 4" of penetration without breaking your feet .... your ok killing the bermuda and over seeding in the fall. Do the shovel test on bare soil - some where in the yard outside the lawn. The bermuda thatch will not allow you to get much penetration. Once its dead, it will give way a lot easier........but right now its too thick and spongy.

Neither, when it's dead it's dead, you can prepare the surface by raking the debris/thatch and then you're ready to seed.

You need to start the kill early in the summer because it's going to take a while, Bermuda is hard to kill. Plan on doing at least 3-4 applications of RoundUp 3-4 weeks apart.

You can top-dress the seed with a thin layer of compost if you want, but unless you have a slope or can't reliably water 4-5 times a day to keep the seed moist, you don't have to top-dress.

Not sure how low you're cutting it, if low let it grow out to maybe 3" or so and spray it good. Wouldn't be a bad idea to hit it with some fast release nitrogen about 2 weeks before spraying (healthy grass/weeds die better). Once it's dead and brown scalp it and bag the clippings. Then begin watering to green up anything that's not dead and spray again. The more times you can do this before seeding the more successful you'll be at destroying the bermuda. It's still a crap shoot because the stuff is so hard to get rid of.

Once you're certain everything is dead there's no need to till. The dead bermuda will eventually break down into organic matter. Dead is dead and it won't come back if you're lucky. At most core plug before spreading the new seed.

Choose a tall fescue cultivar that is heat, drought, and fungus resistant. Here's a website that may help in your search: http://www.ntep.org/tf.htm  Your fist summer will be the hardest and if you can make it through without huge losses you'll be ahead of the game. Learn the signs of drought stress (the grass will get a dull blue/grey tint to it) and that's when to water. You'll probably need a fungicide to keep the brown patch away too.

When you are trying to kill the bermuda, you still need to water it. Why? To generate more growth from anything that survived the first watering. If you water it a little bit on a daily basis, that approach will germinate the most weeds. Then the next round of RoundUp will kill those.

Take that rototill thought out of your mind. That is not the right way to prepare soil for grass. You can get away with it with a veggie or flower bed, but it is still the wrong approach. It's just with a lawn the problems far outweigh any benefits you might think it gives.

When the bermuda has browned out after the first spray.......power rake the area to clear out most of the bermuda, and then fertilize and water the area heavily to bring back whatever bermuda is still alive.... and weeds which will sprout also. Usually it takes a month to get some bermuda re-growth, at which time you will make your second spray. 3rd spray will come a month after that, and then your good to go. Seed the fescue at the beginning of Oct.

Continue to mow as normal......right?

You mean when the bermuda and weeds come back?

yes

After the bermuda has been scalped, ( after the first spray) the new growth that comes back must be left alone - so that it can get as lush and leafy as possible. The more leaf, the more the 'Round up' will be taken up by the plant- and transported to the roots and rhizomes. Same with the 3rd spray......after the 2nd spray is done and everything is dead, mow short and wait a month to see what comes back. It shouldn't be much , but there will be maybe 10% bermuda re-growth. After the fescue is established , you may still have a little bit of bermuda return, but there is a chemical that will control the bermuda, without harming the fescue. ( Bayer advanced bermuda control for lawns)