This time of year the grass has started to grow and you noticed the bare dead spots from the winter damage. Those spots need to be repaired so as not to let weeds get a foot in the door and take over the spot. There are several ways you can fix the problems spots in your yard.
The quickest fix to a bare area is to cut the area out and place in new sod. This will require you remove the dead material and take it down to the bare dirt. Be sure that you don’t cut any irrigation pipes and be careful not to cut cable or phone lines. If you are not sure where they are in your yard you can call and have them marked for free. Next step after getting the area to bare dirt is to get some fresh sod pieces and place them in the area to be repaired. Try to keep the edges tight up against each other and stagger the joints if it is a larger area. When all the pieces are in you will usually not have a perfect fit of sod into the existing lawn. Cut sod with the end of your shovel and piece it in to the areas to fill all the spaces.
The next way is to clean up the dead area and put in plugs. Plugs are small sections of grass that are put in the dirt spaced apart and then allowed to grow in. This method will also work but it will not give the instant results of sod as the plugs will need time to establish and send out runners to fill in the bare spot. You will also need to keep an eye on the weeds and not let them get in and crowd out your new plugs.
With either method you use be sure to water your new grass area daily for at least the first 7-10 days as not to let the area dry out.
Small areas that have dead spots can just have some sand put in the bare spot to give the roots of the surrounding turf something to grab onto and grow in on its own similar to a plug but with out putting any new grass in.