How to seed when top-dressing a lawn

[Five Diamond Lawns]

I have been struggling with how to best seed when I top-dress a lawn. In the past I have always seeded after and if it was in the dry months spread pete moss to hold in the moisture. Now I'm looking for a different way.

I've looked at mixing it in with the topsoil before I spread it but that's a big haste, though I'll do it if it takes the place of the pete moss.

The other thought is to spread it between the aeration step and the spreading of the topsoil (note I'm only spreading 1/4" to 1/2" of topsoil and compost mix)

[pow]

Are you topdressing the entire lawn and why? I'm not very familiar with the NW, but in the south topdressing is mostly done on golf courses, and not with peatmoss but with sand or soil and never more than 1/4 in. Peatmoss tends to dry out quickly and retards water. The only reason to do the entire lawn here is because of poorly laid sod or very rough lawn. A topdressing machine should also be used. Topdressing can to more harm than good if the lawn doesn't need to be topdressed. That's here in the South, the NW may be a different story.

[Five Diamond Lawns]

Top dressing is done a lot in the NW. A combination of a ton of new construction ( tracks ) and 30 year old lawns. The new ( 2+ years old ) builders come in and scrape all the topsoil off to level for building, then after just spray hydro-seed over the top without adding topsoil back. The old lawns have only had synthetic fertilizer if any for many years and compaction is a huge problem up here. Normally we aerate then top-dress with overseeing.

[mariner]

Do what you normally do!