I can see you're going to do the core aeration, so here is some more advice. Since you have it you may as well use the heck out of it. The bermuda will survive no matter what, so drive that thing up and back, across and back, diagonal and back, and then the other diagonal and back. You need all the holes you can get. When you're finished, whether you use compost or not, then spray again with shampoo at a higher dose (6-10 ounces per 1,000 square feet. Then water it until you think you're going to fill in all the holes (you won't). But if you do fill the holes and it seems like it won't drain, then you have a bigger problem. I don't think your soil is compacted. Sure the heavy landscaping equipment drove over it but they are designed for landscaping. If you tried to compact the soil with that equipment it would be hard. You would have to start with soil that was completely saturated and drive over it until you sunk in and pushed all the air out of the soil. I'm sure that didn't happen. Most contractors will leave the job site at the first sign of sprinkles. If that still doesn't work, then Lou has alluded to another approach I have used successfully using a soaker hose. It is not what you might think, but it worked every time I tried it. I gave up on that approach once I learned about shampoo, but I certainly remember it.

You've gotten some good advice, I will try and organize mine so that it is easily readable. Kitchen: Beautiful! Put a larger table under that wonderful lamp Family room: A+++ This room makes me want to buy the house. TV looks puny though. Suggest either taking the twin bookshelves from the Living room to frame it up in there or remove it to somewhere else. Recreation Room: While this seems like a great place for kids to kick back, it is right outside the master bedroom so be careful about playing up its recreational (read that: noise ) possibilities. Maybe divide the room's purpose. There is one large window with shears and nothing on the second smaller window so it seems it would lend itself to that. Consider too that the way that you have placed the furniture in the rec room is conducive to people sitting there but not people walking through--they are walking through on their way to the bedrooms. Even putting some sort of bar with stools that is set--I don't know, give them something to look at on their way to the bedrooms so they arent' thinking "This is the bonus room." As far as purpose, you could even envision it as an extension of the master as a sitting room with and office hidden behind a screen--just one idea. The problem room in this house in the formal living room downstairs. Those recliners scream old and dowdy and the bookshelves framing a picture seems unfinished. This is THE FIRST room a buyer sees when they walk in and it is not as inviting as your family room and kitchen--it should be. Someone has suggested and office or dining room--both good ideas. You could also use that staging trick and put something in there that is a conversation piece in and of itself so that people don't think too much about the room. Put one of the recliners up in the master and maybe if one will fit, in the rec room. All in all, I think the feedback that you are getting about floorplan is more about inconsistency. Two rooms (the rec room and more importantly, the entry room) pale in comparison to the warm inviting feel you have created in your other rooms. Bring those up to the same level and I think you will have it made.

thanks ladies. couple more thoughts based on your responses. first, i have 10 chairs for my dining room, and the table won't accomodate more than that, so that was a really creative thought but not applicable in this case. second, i know neither of my existing chairs are a good look as is. both would need to undergo a serious transformation. i was hoping to get some cool ideas on the type of transformation. i'll get the ball rolling. so, the pair that i have are gliders. while i love that they glide (especially with 2 little ones), the skirt is not cute but necessary to cover all the glider stuff. what if i removed the glider mechanism from the bottom and added pretty legs? and when i recover, i could tuft the back. i'm still stuck on color but i feel like i could live with this look. yay? nay? other ideas?? i totally get it - it'd be nice to have infinite choices from a design/decor perspective, but it feels so wasteful to buy 2 new chairs when i have these 2 in great condition. that said, i could use these 2 chairs in our master bedroom - maybe, so if you talk me out of it for the living room there's still hope for them. :)

kimmq is kimmsr, I did read what you wrote. Several times. There is no way what you wrote can in any way be interpreted to mean anything other than lack of organic matter causes soil compaction. "Compacted soils are usually the result of a lack of adequate amounts of organic matter in the soil." your statement does not say this is the only cause, but certainly states this is A cause. Your rewriting defines the first commandment. kimmq is kimmsr cannot be wrong. He ain't right, but he cannot be wrong. And yes, from words you have written in the past, I know you are a he. You got the relationship backwards. Soil organic matter is not a cause of compaction...that's pressure. It can be from raindrops. Certain soil types have physical properties that make them more susceptible to compaction under certain conditions, but any soil can be compacted. One of the conditions that soils that have been compacted often have is low organic matter...but it is not the only one, and it is not a cause. It's also one of the few physical properties of soil that you have any realistic hope of changing. (ironically, for the purposes of discussions in these forums, one of the physical characteristics of soils that are usually not compacted is sand. To understand that, you have to know a little about the prismatic nature of sand particles, as well as their nearly inert chemistry. sandy soils also often have very low organic matter, but that's just coincidence, right? However, my prediction is: a lecture about why adding sand is rarely a benefit, the perils of adding not enough, and how much it takes to create any benefit.) Since when does core aeration not assist in the addition of organic matter to the soil profile? To make such a claim is crazy talk. It's like my left foot...it's just not right. You now have a series of holes as deep as you set the machine. Air and organic matter are not able to enter the soil profile to the depth of the core. And as much as anything, it's not the organic matter that is helping...it's the air. Now, things down there can breathe. Composting can happen, microbes can be more efficient...the list of benefits from this is unending. Every once in a while, if a lawn has deteriorated to the point that there is little or no viable turf left, then by all means, consider tilling...again, a lot of potential benefits, but it's just one of a number of possible techniques one can use.