Floratam for full sun. Palmetto for shadier areas.

St Augustine comes by the piece, not the plug. I suppose you could cut it up into smaller pieces.

What is your watering regimen (frequency and duration)?

How high/low do you mow?

How often do you fertilize? When were the last two times you fertilized and what did you use?

Have you ever used a herbicide? If so, what?

St Augustine should take over your lawn if you are caring for it right. You might be missing one part, so if you can answer the questions, perhaps we can fine tune your program.

I just bought the house and it looks like the lawn was not well taken care of. There are lots of bare spots. I have not watered, mowed or fertilized yet. I used Bonide Weed Beater Complete three weeks ago because half of the back yard is mostly weeds.

What is your advice dchall? I want a nice lawn and I am willing to put in the work. Where do I start?

Watering
Start now. Put out some straight sided cans, like empty cat food or tuna cans, and turn on your sprinklers. Time how long it takes to fill the cans. That is your target time for weekly watering. If you get runoff before you fill the cans, turn off the sprinklers immediately and let the water soak in for a half hour. Then continue the watering and start the clock again. Runoff does not count as watering. When you water, do it all at one time.

Mowing
Set your mower for the highest setting. Don't mow until the grass is tall enough to mow...unless of course you just like to walk around the yard making noise.

Fertilizer
I like organics, but not everyone does. If you use chemicals, wait until you have mowed the grass for the second time to apply. If you use organics you can start now and apply as often as your wallet can afford. Fertilize only the St Augustine and the runners as they creep over the yard. They should spread about 5 feet in the spring and another 5 feet in the fall. If you want it to go faster than that, you can strategically place some new pieces of grass in the yard and let them spread. New pieces of sod will need to be watered daily until they knit into the ground.

I would not worry about preemergents, herbicides, or insecticides until you see grass growing. I'm concerned that the Bonide might slow down the new growth.