Trying to rescue the fescue

Ok so maybe we don't water the lawn as often as we should, but now, it will be nigh daily. The lawn is interesting to say the least. Lumpy and patchy with various grasses. Summer is on so it's also dry and brown and patchy. I really hate using so much water to keep something green that's native to a cool damp environment like oh, Scotland. Well I suppose the PNW is close, but our summers can be brutal and the city gets dry dry dry in the heat (ok the "heat", we've only had a few scorchers yet.)
anyway. I have neglected the lawn. It's sad. But it was sad already (remember lumpy and patchy.) Really what the yard needs is to be rototilled and leveled and reseeded. But truly, who has the time? Or money! Where does on rent a rototiller anyways? (or a chipper shredder..I actually do want to use one of those...) So I did the best I feel I can at this point.
I got one of those dangerously evil looking lawn thatching rakes ( the ones with double rose of sharp spines, like a double sided rake of death.) it's akin to taking a razor cutter to ones hair and makes a similar ripping sound in the lawn. It pulls up all the dead, thatched (think straw roofs of ole merrie England)grass and anything else hiding in the thatch (twigs, stones, large pieces of wood, bottle caps) you end up with what looks like most of your lawn, but your lawn is still there, this is all the dead lawn that doesn't decompose well because it keeps water out and air from circulating and yadda yadda. It does pull up some live grass, but grass is kind of like bamboo..It is like bamboo! Grass just keeps spreading so, now that you have thatched it, there is room to breath and for new grass to sprout. Hopefully.
then it got mowed and then I over seeded the lawn, which is a weird way to say I RE-seeded the lawn in hopes some bare sad spots come back. So, with more consistent watering and more air and circulation and new seed, hopefully the lawn will come back.
as much as I feel I have fairly free reign with the garden, I think there might be issue if I got rid of all the grass. Unless I have a great plan first and well, a lot of money. I have a extremely large pile of old grass now along the back wall of the garden. Which will be mighty beneficial as brown material for my compost, or as compost where it is. yay. Lawns are stupid.
and in case you are wondering what the hell fescue is, it's a kind of grass, like bluegrass, ryegrass, or crabgrass.