TifTuf, Tahoma 31, or Tifway 419 Bermuda in Dallas?

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The install process seems daunting as a DIY. Approx 1200 sq ft

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That'd be nothing to lay yourself and probably around $800 for the sod if pricing similar to what I've checked around me.

The prep work might be worth paying the other guy for if he does it right.

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The prep work might be worth paying the other guy for if he does it right.

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Laying the sod would be the easy part. The scraping, tilling, spreading soil etc would be the reason for hiring out. I'd have to rent the equipment (tiller, power rake etc), buy the top soil and I can only get 1yd in my truck safely. Then about 3 pallets of sod, which again, only 1 would probably be able to go in bed of f150. The cost of hiring it out doesn't seem too bad to save me the hassle of renting equipment, transporting equipment, soil, and sod in multiple trips and then doing the actual work.

Seems pricey to me. 2018 it was $8 a yard for tear off and install. If your square footage is accurate they are charging $22 a yard.

If 100% do it myself. It would take 3-4 hours.

I was considering it, but the dirt work is what has me thinking about getting a pro. I need to level the yard and grade some of it. By the time I rent a power rake to remove all dead grass, then have a yard or 2 of top soil delivered and have to shovel and rake, then 3 pallets of sod, I feel like it wouldn't be much more to hire out.

Btw, I just google earthed my yard since I found out it has a measuring tool and it's probably closer to 1800 sq ft if you subtract the hardscape and under perimeter trees. It doesn't look that big, but I guess, as you can tell, I'm a novice at all of this.

What does access to your yard look like? 2 yards of dirt delivered should run you maybe $150 give or take $50. The dirt is cheap but the trip charge will cost some amount. You can fit a yard in the bed of a half ton, so if you wanted to take two trips and just wheel barrow it around, you can do that also. Two yards of material takes me about an hour to unload and spread by hand.

If you can get a tractor to the area, you can rent a tractor for $300 roughly and just sit there and scrape the top, then spread the dirt. Tractor work takes an hour or two to get the hang of, but you get it for the full weekend usually if you rent it Friday afternoon and only pay a day or day and a half of the tractor rental. So you're talking about $500 tops for doing it yourself.

If you're not coordinated enough to get the hang of the tractor though, you may be wasting your money. Personally, I look at stuff like this as an opportunity to learn to do something new. Plus you get to play with a tractor for a bit which can be fun.

Did your price include the sod as well?

I have Empire zoysia in a section of my yard and St. Augustine grass in the other. In the beginning of drought, zoysia is usually the first to brown up (dormancy). But even a little water and it bounces back quickly and completely. St. Aug. is not as fast to brown, but when it browns, a good chunk of it dies.
I would think hybrid Bermuda would be the best at “drought avoidance”. But it’s also gonna need a reel mower for mowing several times a week and more fertilizer (in general; I don’t know the specifics of each variety you mentioned).