Good quality seed with no weeds and excellent varieties is always my recommendation. Site One has good seed and is often a local option. The superseedstore has good stuff but it's pricey compared to local options. My local ace hardware carries seed by Hummert International and it's good seed. It may be local to me in KC though as Hummert is local I think. Grass Pad in Omaha has good seed.
I've never bought lawn soil in my life. My preferred method is to power rake down to bare soil. Spread seed on bare soil and cover with a thin layer of peat moss.
Most seeding projects fail for two reasons. Poor seed to soil contact and watering issues. To solve the watering issue, seed only an area that can be covered by your sprinkler without moving it. You can come back and do another area later. Buy a digital timer for your faucet and set it to water for like 3-5 minutes every 4 hours. If the faucet leaks use some plumber tape on the threads.
With these soil temps you'll see germination in 4-7 days with fescue. After a week, set the timer to water 2 times a day but a bit longer so maybe 10 minutes. Back off watering some as it gets established. Pay attention each day when you get home from work and adjust as necessary. After 2 weeks you can focus on a new area to seed. You have a good 6 weeks to seed fescue effectively, so you can do 3 areas pretty easy. Buy the digital timer! It's like $25 but it will save your butt and make success so much higher.
