Two questions:
What kind of grass?
and
What is your ultimate goal? New lawn, or other ground cover?
Answer those, and we might be able to give you some useful info!

Kevin : )

To be honest I do not know what kind of grass it is. It was there when we moved in and all I know it is a mess, very thin, spots on the lawn almost all dirt, I don't think anyone fertilized this lawn in years! I am wanting to pull it all up and xeriscape the yard with a stone and mulch patterns around garden beds. The front yard is almost all clover..the back yard is grass, but not thick, green nice grass. Am I making sense?

I have done a LOT of grass removal. DO NOT waste your time and money on a sod cutter. They are basically useless. Instead, rent a DUMP TRAILER, one that has a hydraulic lifter for self-unloading. TRUST ME on this, it will save you HOURS of hassle. Next get a FLAT shovel (sometimes called a transfer shovel), and cut straight down by standing on it, about 1 ft squares 3 or 4 inches deep to get all the roots. Then use your flat shovel again to lift out each square piece of turf and load it into the trailer. After you dump the load, all you will have to do is sweep out the trailer and return it. YOU WILL BE SORRY if you throw these chunks into the back of the pickup truck. Unloading and cleaning is a BIG hassle. You have been warned.

After removing the turf, DO NOT TILL THE SOIL. That would allow LOTS of weeds to grow. Just smooth with a heavy rake and do your project.

The reason I was asking what kind of grass is that bermudagrass can grow rhizomes one foot deep, and unless they are all removed--or killed-- they will be back in a matter of weeks. If you have bermudagrass, remove the "sod", such as it is, to remove the majority of the grass' rhizomes and stolons. Give the area a deep soaking: about 3 inches of water in sprinkling. That will bring up sprouts from most of the remaining rhizomes. When the sprouts are 2-4 inches tall, spray with something containing glyphosphate. Repeat once a month until no more sprouts come up--it may take all summer--before planting, or putting in the gravel.

Good luck!
Kevin : )

Thanks alot! I will definately take your advice. I love the idea of renting a dump truck and will certainly do just that. It sounds easier than I thought it would be, just a lot of elbow grease.

Thanks also for the tip on the glyphosphate, I will look for it just in case I have that kind of grass.

Thank you so much!!! I hate grass, it's such a waste of space, IMHO... :)

I have been looking for a good product that contains the glyphosphate, but I only find round up with a high enough concentration of it, do you know if that is what I should use, or is there a better product out there?

Try Hi Yield Killzall Superconcentrate. I don't know if it's still true, but RoundUp used to also contain cacodylic acid, which frequently would kill the top of the grass before the glyphosphate could fully absorb into the roots, causing more vigorous re-growth. Why do you need it strong? With glyphosphate, less is more: mixing it too strong can have the same effect as the cacodylic acid. I also recommend that you use a pump-up sprayer instead of a hose-end sprayer to apply the glyphosphate, since drenching the soil with it can cause a long-lasting contamination problem! Be sure to use a non-ionic surfactant to ensure good coverage, since using soaps or detergents can degrade glyphosphate.

Kevin : )