HUGE Remodeling Job, How Do I Expand Network Coverage?

3/4 of my house is being completely rebuilt and they are currently on the electrical wiring stage (wooden framework is all done but no drywall yet). I have a Netgear WNDR3700 right now and even before the heavy modeling, I was only getting 3 bars on my laptop 20-30ft away.

The house is gonna be a LOT bigger now so even if we put the router in the center of the house, neither side will get proper wireless coverage. It's all one story by the way. Is there any way to expand the wireless coverage? Maybe keep the router on one side of the house and get another device on the other side? Or maybe wire the entire house with ethernet cables? I'd prefer not to wire it but if that's what's recommended I'd need to do it now before the drywall is up.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

If you still got a choice then wire the house, cheaper, faster, safer.

 

Any good guides to wiring the house?

 

Make at least one CAT6 drop to each room. CAT6 is a better choice for "in-wall" installations because for one, it's shielded, braided, and recommended for Gig-E connections, which most devices are today.

 

I've looked at some guides online for wiring the house and it looks too time consuming for me. Not all that difficult, especially with no drywall, but I just don't have the time.

Any other options?

 

Powerline Ethernet... Wireless AP's in repeater mode... If you're aiming for ease of installation, Wireless AP's... but then those are going to be slow as molasses compared to Gig-E. It all depends on what priorities you have for your network.

 

you could cheq if a higher DB antena helps

 

I think I'm going to wire part of the house and leave the router on the side of the house where wireless is more needed since my parents want wireless.

Any idea on how much it will cost me to wire a house using electricians? I just don't have the time to do it myself.

Also, say I only have one ethernet port in each room after the wiring, can I buy some kind of switch or something that simply allows me to wire 4 additional devices through that one ethernet port? Sorry I don't know much about networking.

 

Yes you can, put one switch in a room and connect more devices to it.

Cost will likely be 4-5 hundred or so (rough estimate)