Home Network :: Unable To Get Home Networking

After trying most things and spending money like water, I still cannot get our home network to be adequate and I am out of options - Tried using two 100MBit/s Netgear routers "bouncing" signal to each other (Wireless Repeating Function). Not ideal as security is small and speed was slow (<10MBit/s) but at least it worked. However these routers had to get pensioned off when we put gigabit ethernet in the office - and the Netgear replacements (a) still have the security limitations with wireless repeating, (b) anyway see to do a worse job of repeating. Tried buying Netgear directional high-gain antennas and directing the signal point to point to a second router - didn't work at all. Tried Powerline (this was in 2008). It sort-of worked but was unreliable and dog slow. I think this is probably not worked by the fact that this building is OLD, most of the wiring is OLD, and anyway the electrical path would take the signal from the 4th floor, down some very old wiring to the ground floor, across a very old switchboard, and back up to the second floor... it's not quite the same as a modern house with modern wiring. Most recently tried using Netgear's Wireless Network Extender. Again, it sort of works, but it's NOT fast at all. In addition there are times when some of our computers using the extension segment of the network are unable to connect - they can still see 3-4 bars of signal, but they cannot get on the network. Appears to be an issue relating to gateway, or DNS, not sure. But I would say about 1 day in 3, when I come home, my wife tells me that the "internet is off".