1. Before buying seed, be informed. Educate yourself on what grasses will do best in your area/situation. e.g. available sunlight, irrigation and fertilization requirements, your expectaions for the look of the lawn, local seasonal weather conditions, individual grass types and cultivar characteristics and desired/needed resistance to disease, drought etc.. Check out Buckeyeturf.org for general information on KBG, fescues and rye grasses and NTEP for information on specfic cultivar characteristics like color, growth habits, disease and drought resistance, etc.
2. You're going to overseed, and have the equipment, to water the whole 32K?

I got a seed mixture from a distributor last fall just to do an experiment with here in SC . I wanted to see if the "hybrid" KBG "spitfire" was nearly as heat tolerant as advertised.The blend contained the spitfire,rye,and two different cultivars of
standard bluegrass. I sowed that seed into an area adjacent to my yard that we once used as a garden plot and covered by irrigation system.
Planted the first week of October ,the rye shot up and provided pretty good cover within a week and a half,took the bluegrass until last few days of October before I really started to notice it.
I have to admit the dark green canopy of that mixture had me in AWE...it was really beautiful to see.
I was really surprised how long it survived into this year in my area ,I assume the rain weve had helped quite a lot but it has also been very hot here and it started to decline the last week of may with some of it hanging strong until mid June.
While its not viable yet for me down here I would love to see what it could do in a colder climate!

qman,

I always have thoughts. A lot of times I wonder where people get their ideas for lawn installation and care. Many claim they read it here, but I've been here for 10 years and I'll practically guarantee you they did not read it here.

Your basic problem was you seeded in the spring or early summer. New grass plants cannot tolerate the heat so that's what happened to you. Fall is the time for new seed. For your area that is probably in the next few weeks.

Step1: Re-seed in the fall to get a good grass bed to crowd out the crab grass.

Absolutely!

Step2: Apply pre emergent + fertilizer in the spring and continue on a regular fertilizing schedule.

Noooooo. No fertilizer in the early spring! If you feel like you did not get your lawn dense enough to resist weeds in the fall, then use a preemergent herbicide, but don't mix it with fertilizer. Once the grass awakens, it will grow like gangbusters. Extra fertilizer will have you out there mowing every other day. You don't want that with 3/4 acre.

If by 'regular fertilizing schedule,' you mean once in the late spring, once in the early fall, and once in the late fall; then yes. Or you can apply organic fertilizer over and over any time of year - or on the same schedule as chemicals.

For Step1:

Rent:
- Lawn aerator
- Lawn roller

Don't need the aerator. If you had a tractor and a pull behind aerator, then I would suggest you use it, but only because you already owned the thing. Aeration has a couple issues. One is that it brings up weed seeds that have been dormant for years. The other is that you don't need it.

YES to the lawn roller. You have been doing homework!!

Buy:
- Grass seed from local agway that is meant for the north east climate
- Starter fertilizer
- Broadcast spreader

You can get much better seed online. You really get what you pay for with seed. Look for something with 0.00% weed seed and 0.00 Other Crop. The fescues are good for shady areas. The Kentucky bluegrasses are good for bright sunny spots.

Do:
1. Water lawn thoroughly 2 days prior
2. Mow lawn at lowest setting the day before aeration
3. Use aerator first in east west pattern and then in north south pattern
4. Spread grass seed
5. Spreak ferilizer
6. Use lawn roller to work seeds into dirt
7. Water for 10mins @ 3 times daily for 2-3 weeks

Again, skip the aerator. If you tried to aerate 32,000 square feet of lawn you would be a broken man at the end. Plus skipping this saves a LOT of time. The rest looks good. If you get a seed mix with Kentucky bluegrass, you will not see any of that seed sprout until 3 weeks. That means you have to continue with the 3x per day watering until you get 80% of that germinated. So figure 4 weeks of watering. Don't go on vacation.