[NCLUG] FOSS (OpenWRT) friendly extended-range WiFi home ideas?

[Gabriel L. Somlo]

Hi,

I'm currently running OpenWRT on a NetGear X4S R7800, but had to hook
it up toward one end of my house, and the coverage only goes about
half-way to the other end.

I'm new to the world of WiFi "extenders" and "repeaters" and "mesh"
configurations, and I'm wondering if anyone here has any good/bad
experiences with any specific setups.

I'm thinking I'd probably need one or two additional devices to speak
WiFi to my "main" router (which I'm happy to also replace, if that's
going to get me a better overall end result), and also allow wifi-enabled
client devices to connect through them to the "main" router and on to
the Internet.

Bonus points if end devices can seamlessly jump from one
extender/repeater/mesh box to another, remain within the same SSID,
stay within the same layer-2 broadcast domain, and/or keep the same
IP address while doing so.

In lieu of "buy this and flash OpenWRT (or other FOSS firmware) on it",
a link to a good tutorial (which also explains the tradeoffs between the
various options) would also be much appreciated :)

Thanks, and hope you all have a great Thanksgiving,
--Gabriel