Prepare the ground the same as for seeding. When watering sod, make sure the soil underneath stays moist but not saturated. You may have to water it twice a day at first, depending on the weather. Bermuda is more drought-tolerant but turns brown earlier in the fall and greens up later in the spring than fescue, for a shorter season. Bermuda can get certain funguses but has such recuperative power that if something does knock it down, it bounces back with fertilizer and some water, McDonnell says.
Zoysia is another warm-season lawn that holds up to heat better than fescue but does get thatch.
Buffalo doesn't make for a manicured lawn but is the easiest to care for. Annie Calovich writes about gardening.