Advice on overseeding a dead lawn.

I inherited a sickly lawn three years ago.

After the first trim of the year, I realised that around half of it was meadow grass, in two large patches, plus several isolated clumps.

So, I sprayed it with glyphosate ready to re-seed.

I'm only tending the lawn while I look after my elderly mum, so I don't want to spend too much money.

My local topsoil suppliers both sell 50/50 rootzone, and 'black gold' which seems to be fairly rough reclaimed soil.

These are the easiest and cheapest options.

Alternatively there's the national online suppliers who sell either sandy loam lawn soil, or hugely expensive top dressing.

Decision one, is how much topsoil/dressing to use.

A few 25kg bags would probably fill any imperfections.

However, I wouldn't mind seeding the lawn, and then covering it with half an inch of soil, for nutrients and to hide the seeds from the local wood pigeons.

When I've decided how much soil to use, I need to decide what type.

50/50 rootzone is really to lay turf on top, and I don't think the 'black gold' will be particularly well screened.

Can anyone advise on using sandy loam, vs top dressing?

One company states that sandy loam is unsuitable for my application.

My gut feeling is that any finely screened topsoil would do the trick, and if it's cheap I can afford a large bulk bag.

I have a levelling rake, and a roller so I should achieve a nice finish.

Cheers.