Question
My lawn was sodded when the house was built 2 1/2 years ago, but that was during water restrictions during a drought.  The lawn is mostly weeds now, but there is a high percentage of the lawn that is just dirt.  Neighboring yards that were sodded after the drought look good with minimal maintenance.  In early spring I tilled the yard by hand, seeded, and fertilized.  Within a few weeks the grass came up, but only grew to a height of a few inches and then never grew any more.  They still looked like seedlings two months after germinating.  When the hot summer heat came, it all died.  However, even with good amounts of rain, the established grass does not grow.  I do have to cut the grass once a week, but it is mainly to knock down the high weeds.  I'm considering re-sodding, but I don't want it to die like the previous sod.  I suspect maybe poor soil quality (i.e. hard and full of rocks?).  I've also noticed that trees and bushes in my yard have limbs that die (mostly near the top) in bunches.  This is occurring on multiple kinds of trees and bushes.  Could this somehow be related?  Thanks for any input.

Answer
Trees and bushes dying at the growing tips, "near the tops", are a good indication of what has recently happened or is now happening at root level. The lack of water appears to be the chief cause. Try watering daily, a diagonal strip across the lawn. In about 7 days you should be able to discern a greener color on this strip. More watering is needed. A 'pan' may exist below the surface of the lawn which limits root room and consequently, the amount of top growth. Use a trowel to dig down into the soil and look for a line or layer of a different color, usually yellow. Such pans can be chemical in nature and will have to be resolved on the recommendations after a soil analysis. The pan may be mechanical - a hard layer which when broken up, will permit roots to go deeper, resulting in better top growth. (Vibrating) tines pulled through the soil will adequately shatter such a pan. You can rent such a machine.
Complete failure of a part of the lawn usually occurs over the area where construction debris was buried. Depending upon the depth, it can take a long time to show up.
So, to sum it all up, your own observations indicate that you should look into the soil for a clue to the cause(s) of the lawn problems. Depending upon what you find out, you might be able to remedy it on your own. On the other hand you might decide that you need to look for professional help. Hopefully the foregoing will help you to decide on what direction to take.