You're kidding about removing grass with sod cutter, right? Do you have any idea how much of dirt and grass you would be getting rid of? Cubic yards and yards of it...

Usually a tractor with box blade is the best for leveling a yard.

If you want to kill all the weeds and old grass completely or almost completely, use round up. Since this is organic lawn, go with much more expensive route, 10% Vinegar...

What kind of grass and where do you live? That is my biggest peeve when they post a message asking for help but never mention which grass and where they live. For all I know you live in Africa....

I live in LI, NY. The reasons I mention a sod cutter is because that's the only thing I ever see people use. I never even heard of a tractor with a box blade or if I can even get it around here. Anyway, I don't have that big of a front yard. Probably about 700 square feet, so I don't think it's that much to get rid of. With a tractor, don't you still end up having to get rid of the grass anyway?

Either way, just want to do it right regardless of how much work it id. Don't I need to get rid of the grass and weeds that are there now? Going around the whole lawn and individually pulling the weeds would be alot of work. That;s what I thought was one of the benefits of a sod cutter. Gets rid of it all at once.

I will be planting bluegrass sod BTW, sorry about that.

bump! any other thoughts?

Every landscaper in your area will know what a box blade is. It is sometimes called a landscaper's blade. The FAQ was for a DIY project. The tractor is not a DIY project. And in my opinion a sod cutter is not a DIY project either. For 700 square feet I would use the FAQ. If you want to use a vertical rake that would chop up the sod even better.