fishing wires
 

I am wanting to replace my oh so nifty aluminum wiring in my 40 yr old house.

One question I haven't been able to get resolved is about running the new wiring in the walls.

When I fish the new wire into place, do I need to anchor it to the studs within the 8-12 inches of the box? If so, are there any tricks to doing it other than opening up the wall to get access to pound in a staple?

Another question is do I need to pull out the old wire. I'm sure I should, if nothing more than to just make sure there isn't any confusion created in future projects when someone comes across a wire and can't figure out where it goes, etc.

Thanks for any info or suggestions.

The answer to both of your questions is no. If the wires are not live you can leave them in the walls.

You could...
 

You could also mark them so no one in the future has any worries.:D

Definitely mark them.. heh.

There are a number of options available for that:

Heat shrinkable labels, wrap around, printed thermal or dot matrix, laser, engraved steel bands, tons more

Hey, Thanks for the comments.

I plan to remove any wiring that I can get to, however what's in the wall and stapled in place is likely going to stay right there. I'll try to label any loose ends I have to leave behind to indicate they are scrap metal to be taken to the recycler.