My 13 ft by 17 ft covered patio is part of the original structure of the house. The patio ceiling is 9 ft high. In the center of the patio roof is a recessed area 6 ft by 12 ft, rising another 9 feet to a pair of skylights. I want to install a fan in the center of the patio, but because of the skylights, I obviously can't attach it directly to existing beams. I am thinking that a box beam with 2X dimensional lumber installed just above the bottom of the recess might work. The box beam would span the 6 foot dimension of the recess, supported by furring strips attached to the full-length of the 12 foot sides. Would this work?

House was built in 1986. The light fixture on the light post built up some rust, so I replaced it. It comes on automatically at night and off in the morning, and was working fine, then just stopped. The wiring is fine and the bulbs are fine, so not sure why it would just stop working. I cannot find a switch that I need to "flip", so wonder if there some kind of sensor that would tell the light to turn on at night and off in the morning that is broken? What controls this light? Thanks -b