Lawns - New Lawn

Hi all, I am hoping that I can get some advice for a lawn project I am about to take on. When we built our house on a wooded lot, we didn't clear the trees in the rear of the house. However, I have started that project this year and am about 80% done with clearing of the trees, raking of the leaves and twigs, etc. Ok, so now how do I make it into a lawn?? There are some humps and dips from pulling out about 20 small tree stumps, so I will have to level it. But is it as simple as bringing in a couple loads of topsoil?? If so, am I bringing in enough topsoil to cover ever inch of existing dirt, or just to fill in to make sure its level? Also, what is the best piece of equipment that I could rent to level the dirt? It seems like a bulldozer would be nice with the big blade, but what about a tool called a rockhound or a harley rack??
Any help would be great, as you can probably guess, I having a little trouble about where to begin.
Thank you, Rob

First, a question, when you took out any large trees, did you have the roots ground out? If not, it could cause a few problems, particularly if you want any flower beds in those areas. In terms of soil, get the best top soil and mushroom compost mix. Measure the space and the place that sells dirt can tell you how much (but you'll need to know what level to get it to-- add a few inches, just fill in, etc). The big thing is to make sure the ground slopes away from the foundation.

We have done this with say 400 square feet of lawn and it's tough to get it even, so I'm not sure what equipment you'd need in a much bigger yard. Hopefully someone else can add to that.

If you have 6-8" of topsoil exhisting, all I would do is bring in enough soil to fill in the depressions and depending on the size of the yard i would rent either a small tractor with a box blade or a skid-steere. If your topsoil is thin I would get enough to plate the yard to around 6-8". Try to pack the soil in the depressions fairly well so your settling issues will be minimized. You will more than likely have to add soil or sand to the areas where the trees were over time as it will settle some anyway.