Hello all...I have been on these forums on and off for several years now...I have gotten some great advice and my fescue lawn in Knoxville, TN was the talk of the neighborhood (mow high, water deeply and infrequently--thanks dchall). Fast forward several years and I am now in Hillsboro, Oregon a few miles outside of Portland, and in some ways back to square one. As I researched and read posts and FAQs it is hard not to be confused by the varied opinions.

After considering sod (got a quote from a local landscaper) vs. seeding, I have decided to put seed down since rye germinates quickly here. Truth be told I didn't like the landscaper's approach who wanted to till in everything (including the existing weeds) with the soil ammendments. And since I am new, I don't have anyone I can bribe with pizza to help me lay the sod down and I don't think I can do it by myself.

I get at least 5 or more hours of sun on most of the area and since I already have perennial rye on my front lawn, I think I will stay with something like it...I have chosen Pennington Pacific Northwest Mix which is mostly Perennial Rye with some hard and some chewing fescue.

This coming weekend is supposed to be nice so I am thinking of tackling the bulk of the project then.

So here is my plan:

1. Kill weeds--I sprayed them with roundup today 4/15/13.

2. Rake off the existing bark dust and attached weeds later this week--any thoughts on whether I should leave the bark dust or remove it?

3. Since I have new construction clay under the bark dust, I plan to add a mix of 35% sandy loam, 45% garden compost,5% super mulch, 5% mushroom compost, 10% and horticultural pumice to build my microbe base.

Based on what I have read I am thinking about adding around 2 inches, so about 5 yards (new lawn area will be about 800 sq ft)--any thoughts on whether I should use shampoo for a couple of days before I put this mix down?

4. Add 1 1/2 inches of the mix on top of the existing clay (or barkdust), add starter fertilizer, seeds, and topdress with remaining soil mix--should I rent a roller to push down the mix before adding the seeds or is that an overkill?

I don't have an irrigation system but have sprinklers with zones and timer.

Any other thoughts or anything I have missed that I need to consider before getting started ordering materials or doing any additional work?

As an FYI, I plan on using synthetic starter fertilizer to get the lawn started but hope to go organic, rabbit food, etc, from there on out.

Thanks in advance for the guidance...