I had similar problems with receiving signals in the lower room in my 
house.  The thing that I'm using now works great.  I changed 0y 
router to a Netgear RangeMax.  It has multiple antennas (number 
depends on model).  I went from Low signal (18) to maximum (54) as 
soon as I installed it.

Two other things that I've tried:

One is setting up a "mesh"  router.  I used the Open Mesh for a good 
while.   http://www.open-mesh.com/index.php/    but you will need to 
buy two to get the signal  to get to your workshop.  The first is 
hardwired to a port on your regular router and the second one 
re-transmits the signal to other WiFi devices (including another mesh 
router if further distance is desired).  They can essentially be 
daisy chained to go a long way.  The major drawback is that each 
"jump" or link of mesh routers cuts the bandwidth in half.  Starting 
with 54 Mbps at the first mesh router, the second will be 27 Mbps, 
the third will be 13.5 so there's a practical limit to how far you 
can go.  BUT, the first hard wired router can link to several 
"second" routers.  This is good for an inexpensive setup in an 
apartment building or very large space.  They are setup and 
controlled via an Internet web page and have tons of ways to be 
setup: restricted, open, encrypted, password, etc..  as well as 
having a custom initial connection screen.

The other thing I tried was the Pringles Can antenna which worked 
like a champ with a strong signal.
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-make-a-wifi-antenna-out-of-a-pringles-can-nb/
The big drawback was later I wanted to add other wifi computers and 
the pringles can will only point to one spot, so I decided to try the 
Netgear RangeMax which solved all the problems.

Doug


>Date:    Fri, 11 Mar 2011 15:01:37 -0500
>From:    Tom Waddell <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Extending wireless range
>
>I have a computer in my workshop, about 50 feet in a straight line from the
>home desktop router. In a straight line the signal would have to pass
>through a house wall, a mudroom wall and a garage wall, all insulated but
>none with foil backed insulation. The signal strength is always "very low"
>and often drops out completely. How can I improve the signal so I can listen
>to on line content while I work?

                         PCBUILD's List Owners:
                      Bob Wright<[log in to unmask]>
                        Mark Rode<[log in to unmask]>