That sounds like a good candidate for an elite KBG lawn. If you google "Kentucky Bluegrass Seed Selections Michigan" (without the quotes) you should be able to find some good blends for Michigan. Site prep--I would assume it has been graded by the builder. If not, get it graded by a pro. That's not something you want to risk getting a little wrong. If it is bare dirt, I'd just rough the surface a little before spreading the seed. Once you have the seed down, water three times a day for 5-10 minutes for 3 or 4 weeks, then gradually cut back until you're watering once a week, watering long enough to apply an inch of water. Somebody has the watering schedule broken down better than I do and will probably post it. Once it's growing well, the main things to do are water and mow correctly. After that comes fertilizing. Water deeply and infrequently. Mow at 3-4 inches. Give it 3-4 lbs of actual N per year, 1 lb at a time. The most important time to fertilize it is in the fall. If you're using synthetic fertilizers, use one in the early fall, after the heat of summer has passed and one later, after the top growth has stopped, but while the grass is still green. If you're using organic fertilizers, the timing of the last one is trickier, because it has to go down about three weeks before the soil temperature drops below 40 and that's impossible to know in advance, so you just try to time it as well as you can. If you're using organic fertilizers, you can fertilize in the summer, but if you're using synthetic fertilizers, you should not fertilize in the heat of the summer because it can stress the grass.

If the previous owners let the St Aug die, it was from lack of water, not too much shade. If there is too much shade for St Aug, then no bermuda will survive. St Aug must be sodded. If you want it to spread this year, you may be too late, although with the weather prediction I just heard for the rest of the year, this might be a banner year for grass like St Aug. Do not rototill. Just as was mentioned. And do not bring in any more topsoil. I'm sure your contractor put in exactly the right amount. In fact, never bring in more topsoil unless a low spot develops that must be filled for proper drainage. You won't need any fertilizer until you have roots to take up the fertilizer. You won't need peat moss because it really doesn't do much of anything anyway. If you want to do something, you can use organic fertilizer. Organics work to improve the health of the soil biology. It is the healthy soil biology that feeds plants, so using organics will only improve things. The fertility caused by the organics does not wash through like chemical fertilizers do.

Carboncrank : No Mark unfortunately , has not got back to us for either the Hose or Engine Manufacturer of the Replacement Engine.The hose as advised by Tomplum is most likely oil fill / drain hose or perhaps the crankcase breather hose which has been rerouted from the air breather canister & capped off via an external breather (prevent oil carry over to air filter) rather sketchy description from Mark on that. As for my recommendation of the Best Premium Grade Sythetic oil that he could afford, I assure this anything than ancedotal , but rather from real life experience as a former Diesel Mechanic . Anyone who does not realize the obvious advantages of Premium Grade Synthetic Multi Grade oil , Better Wear Protection , Viscosity Maintenance , Low Temperature Fluidity and last but not least Deposit Control (remember the glowing ember issues on the Honda) should Educate themselves of the upside. If your not aware , all current Small Air Cooled Engine Manufacturers currently Recommend Synthetic Multi Grade Oil for their units over Dino Mineral Oils , for obvious reasons , IT'S BETTER ! The only point of contention within oil recommendations in this Thread was within Grade 30 vs 40 and Potential for foaming within a Splash Lubricated Briggs Engine Design . Since Rotella T6 has antifoaming additives as do most Premium Grade Syn Oils , is why I concurred with Yt-125's recommendation for 5-40 for Southern Climate Usage . However Tomplum expressed reservations which I respect , due to his extensive background within small engines. It was never a based on Economic Waste but rather an Investment in a Engine of Considerable Value. P.S. Do not recognize your username , most of us have been around here for a decade with varing experience within these units . You seem a Man of Convection , what background do you have within this discussion . Do not recognize your username if you are not rebadged , Welcome aboard Bro !

If you could untill the ground and remove the peat you'd be ahead of the game. Where do you live? Is the area shaded or sunny most of the day? We need that info to help you more. Your zone doesn't matter, we need the location. Most people who think they have clay have other stuff going on. If they try to fix it like it was clay then they are doing the wrong thing. There is a test called the jar test which can help you decide if you need further testing. Get a straight sided jar, fill it half way with soil, and measure the amount of soil with a ruler next to the glass (TAKE A PICTURE). Fill the jar with water and a short squirt of shampoo or dish soap. Cap the jar and shake it until all the soil is dissolved. Set the jar down, hold the ruler up and take another picture. After 2 minutes take another picture with the ruler. After 2 hours take another picture. After 2 days take another picture. What you will see is settling of sand/gravel (2 minutes), silt (2 hours), and clay (2 days). If you can see through the water on top of the soil after 2 days you don't have very much clay. Clay particles remain suspended for days and days to cloud the water. You can divide the sand by the total to get percentage of sand. Subtract the sand from the 2-hour picture settling and divide by the total to get the silt percentage. The rest will be clay. When you discover that you don't have any clay at all, then you might want to get a soil chemistry test to see what is the problem. Likely it is an imbalance of salts in the soil with too much magnesium being a possible problem.