Additional Pic

That's crabgrass invading a Northern Mix lawn.

Assuming you would like to improve the appearance, here are a few questions that would help us understand it.

How are you watering it? How frequently and for how long?

How high/low are you mowing?

How much shade is there?

Do you know about when the grass was planted?

Have you fertilized or used any other products on it? If so, what and when?

Dead on, Andy. The good news, special2, is that with the first couple of hard frosts, crabgrass is DOA. Or you might consider some chemical knockdowns while it's actively growing.

If you're not familiar with crabgrass and controlling it, there's volumes on the web about it and control is pretty straightforward.

If you choose to ignore it, be patient, it will be back next spring!

>>The good news, special2, is that with the first couple of hard frosts, crabgrass is DOA.

Except for the ten trillion seeds it'll happily spread around, yep. :-)

It'd probably be a good idea to kill it before it seeds out. That should reduce the amount you get next year by a bit--some will blow in, some gets carried in, and some simply sits in the soil. Waiting. Watching.

No, seriously, I'm not sure how long that seed is viable, but it seems to be ages. I still get a touch near the Thuja and I've been killing it out the instant I see it for almost a decade.

answers for the questions posted:
Do not water the grass. Let mother nature take care of that

Mowing on high cause it helps the lawn look fuller...otherwise it looks like my lawn is going bald.

It gets sun for the majority of the day.

I do not know about when the grass was planted. The house was built in 1987, so I was assume around that time, because the previous owners (prior to me) didn't do anything til it was time to sell the property.

Have not fertilized or used any products on the grass as of yet. Moved in around Memorial Day and I assumed that not much can be done during the summer months.

Questions:
Would it be best to pull the whole thing up (the front yard) and start from scratch? Sod or Seed? In the Fall or Spring '15?

Is there a product that works best to remedy this yard?

This post was edited by special2usa on Thu, Jul 24, 14 at 17:10

Looks like you've got a bunch of bent grass in there as well.

Late summer - early fall is the best time to rejuvenate a cool season lawn. Get a good handle on any weeds and the crabgrass now and then plan on overseeding with a cool season mix later (September).

If this was my lawn, after first addressing the weeds I would core aerate, spread a thin layer of compost and allow to work into the soil with a couple of waterings or rainfall. Then when the temps were better suited, overseed, cover again with a thin layer (1/4-1/2" or so) of screened compost and keep moist until germination. Still time to get a fall fertilizing in after germination and growth but before the weather turns for the winter.

If you choose to sod, you can do that pretty much any time you want, however it is significantly more expensive than both hand seeding or hydroseeding.