Plan mesh wifi nodes for your home.
Manufacturer coverage figures assume clear space, which no real home provides. Interior walls, and especially anything with masonry, foil-backed insulation or plumbing in it, cut usable coverage substantially, and covering multiple floors costs a further penalty because the signal must pass through joists and flooring. Applying both reductions before dividing the floor area gives a node count that reflects the building rather than the datasheet.
Node count from derated coverage
Effective coverage = rated coverage x wall retention x floor penalty; nodes = ceiling(floor area / effective coverage)
Close enough that each node sees the previous one at good signal — roughly two rooms apart, or 10-15 metres in a typical home. Placing them at the edge of usable range gives full bars locally but a weak backhaul, which is the commonest mesh mistake.
No. Each wireless hop roughly halves available throughput, so a four-hop chain performs worse than a well-placed two-node setup. Beyond three or four nodes, wired or powerline backhaul between them is a better investment.
About 80 percent for open-plan drywall construction, 60-70 percent for a normal partitioned home, and 40 percent or less for solid brick, stone, or anything with foil-backed insulation or underfloor heating in the way.