Downtown Hartford is small and is kind of shitty other than a few blocks. Go West Hartford. It’s nicer, still very close to downtown Hartford, and just better

I always have to warm up my wood stove before starting a fire otherwise my draft reverses and chokes out my house. The best way I check to know I'm good to light the fire is to hold a lit lighter near the stove door, if the flame moves in toward the fire I'm good. If the flame is pointing in toward the room, it needs more time heating up.

For now my best way is to use a small space heater inside my stove to get the draft moving where I want it go. With a wood stove I can easily feel draft direction, so Im not sure this would work on a regular fireplace but I dont see why it couldnt show you the draft. Even using a blown out match and watch where the smoke goes

Nah..use spray foam like Great Stuff