diff --git a/modules/build-types/tailscale-router.nix b/modules/build-types/tailscale-router.nix
index 764ef38..a1d3c56 100644
--- a/modules/build-types/tailscale-router.nix
+++ b/modules/build-types/tailscale-router.nix
@@ -16,29 +16,27 @@
   # Must also be approved in the Tailscale admin console (Machines → Edit route settings).
   services.tailscale.extraUpFlags = [ "--advertise-routes=${vars.lanCidr}" ];
 
-  networking = {
-    # SNAT traffic from LAN machines going out through Tailscale so the remote
-    # peer sees it sourced from this router's Tailscale IP (100.x.x.x) rather
-    # than a raw LAN IP.  Without this, Tailscale drops the forwarded packets
-    # because the source is not a recognised Tailscale address.
-    #
-    # networking.nat.externalInterface alone does not insert a MASQUERADE rule
-    # (it only does so when internalInterfaces is also set).  We use
-    # extraCommands to add the rule into the nixos-nat-post chain that
-    # networking.nat.enable creates, and extraStopCommands to clean it up.
-    nat.enable = true;
+  networking.firewall = {
+    # Forwarded subnet-router traffic arrives on tailscale0 already
+    # tailscale-authenticated -- the firewall's normal per-port allow-list
+    # would otherwise drop it. Standard NixOS/Tailscale subnet-router guidance.
+    trustedInterfaces = [ "tailscale0" ];
 
-    firewall = {
-      # Forwarded subnet-router traffic arrives on tailscale0 already
-      # tailscale-authenticated -- the firewall's normal per-port allow-list
-      # would otherwise drop it. Standard NixOS/Tailscale subnet-router guidance.
-      trustedInterfaces = [ "tailscale0" ];
-      extraCommands = ''
-        iptables -t nat -A nixos-nat-post -s ${vars.lanCidr} -o tailscale0 -j MASQUERADE
-      '';
-      extraStopCommands = ''
-        iptables -t nat -D nixos-nat-post -s ${vars.lanCidr} -o tailscale0 -j MASQUERADE 2>/dev/null || true
-      '';
-    };
+    # SNAT LAN traffic going into Tailscale so the remote peer sees it as
+    # coming from this router's Tailscale IP rather than a raw LAN IP.
+    # Without this, Tailscale drops forwarded packets whose source is not a
+    # recognised Tailscale address.
+    #
+    # We target POSTROUTING directly (always-existing built-in chain) rather
+    # than nixos-nat-post: extraCommands runs after the old nixos-nat-post is
+    # deleted but before the new one is created, so -A nixos-nat-post silently
+    # fails.  The -C check makes the rule idempotent across firewall reloads.
+    extraCommands = ''
+      iptables -t nat -C POSTROUTING -s ${vars.lanCidr} -o tailscale0 -j MASQUERADE 2>/dev/null || \
+        iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -s ${vars.lanCidr} -o tailscale0 -j MASQUERADE
+    '';
+    extraStopCommands = ''
+      iptables -t nat -D POSTROUTING -s ${vars.lanCidr} -o tailscale0 -j MASQUERADE 2>/dev/null || true
+    '';
   };
 }