Home / Washington / Insulator (Heat & Frost / Asbestos Worker) / Clark County group
Washington · Insulator (Heat & Frost / Asbestos Worker) · 5 counties
Insulator (Heat & Frost / Asbestos Worker) prevailing wage, Clark County group, Washington (5 counties)
L&I sets the same insulator rates, row for row, in 5 counties: Clark, Cowlitz, Klickitat, Skamania and Wahkiakum. Every figure on this page applies in each of them.
$87.79an hour, base wage + fringe benefits · Mechanic
$62.02 base wage + $25.77 fringe benefits
On Washington public works in each of these 5 counties, an insulator working as mechanic must be paid at least $87.79 an hour in total: $62.02 in wages plus $25.77 in fringe benefits for health, pension, vacation, training and other plans. L&I's rate took effect August 31, 2025.
L&I published this rate on August 1, 2025 and it took effect August 31, 2025. L&I hasn't changed it since, so it is still current in period 2026-2. Checked against L&I's wage lookup on October 24, 2026.
Base wage and fringe benefits: $62.02 + $25.77
The wage is the taxable hourly rate. The other lines are what Washington law calls "usual benefits": contributions to health, pension, vacation and holiday, apprenticeship and similar plans. A contractor that doesn't provide a benefit pays its value as wages instead (RCW 39.12.010).
| Base wage (taxable) | $62.02 |
| Health and welfare | $15.54 |
| Pension | $7.92 |
| Training | $1.20 |
| Other benefits | $1.11 |
| Total straight-time hourly rate | $87.79 |
Set from: collective bargaining agreement, Master Agreement 2022-2026 Western Insulation Contractors Assoc. of Oregon & Washington Inc. Portland, Oregon & International Association of Heat & Frost Insulators & Allied Workers Local Union No. 36 Portland, Oregon. Where a county has a collective bargaining agreement, L&I adopts its wage and benefits; with more than one, the higher rate prevails. Otherwise L&I uses wage surveys (RCW 39.12.015).
When does this rate change?
- Rates lock at the bid date. A project uses “the rates that are in effect on the date when bids by prime contractors are due”, and they stay for the life of the contract. If the contract isn't awarded within six months of the bid date, the award-date rates apply. Contracts without bids use the date they're signed (WAC 296-127-011).
- L&I publishes on the first business day of February and August, and rates take effect 30 days later. Corrections can be published at any time and also take effect 30 days later (WAC 296-127-011(1); L&I publications and corrections). L&I's next set is due February 1, 2027, effective March 3, 2027.
- L&I doesn't republish every rate each period. A rate stays until L&I changes it, so each one has its own date. This one was published August 1, 2025 and took effect August 31, 2025.
Davis-Bacon insulator rates in these counties
The counties share L&I's rates, but not always the same federal wage determination. When a contract requires both the state rate and the Davis-Bacon rate, paying the higher of the two meets both. The contract documents say which apply.
| County | Federal classification | Base + fringe | WD | vs L&I |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County | HEAT & FROST INSULATOR (INCLUDES DUCT, PIPE AND MECHANICAL SYSTEMS) | $84.38 | WA20260120 Mod 1 | L&I +$3.41 |
| Cowlitz County | HEAT & FROST INSULATOR (INCLUDES DUCT, PIPE AND MECHANICAL SYSTEMS) | $53.71 | WA20260105 Mod 1 | L&I +$34.08 |
| Klickitat County | ASBESTOS WORKER/HEAT & FROST INSULATOR (PIPE INSULATION ONLY) | $84.38 | WA20260031 Mod 1 | L&I +$3.41 |
| Skamania County | HEAT & FROST INSULATOR (INCLUDES DUCT, PIPE AND MECHANICAL SYSTEMS) | $84.38 | WA20260120 Mod 1 | L&I +$3.41 |
| Wahkiakum County | ASBESTOS WORKER/HEAT & FROST INSULATOR (PIPE INSULATION ONLY) | $84.38 | WA20260040 Mod 1 | L&I +$3.41 |
Holidays
L&I holiday code 5N:
Holidays: New Year's Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day (9).
How the Clark County group compares
The main insulator rate in every county that has one, and how the pay splits here and in the nearest counties. All bars use the same scale.
Every county in Washington
Base wage and fringe benefits, nearby
- Clark County groupbase $62.02$87.79
- Cowlitz Countybase $62.02$87.79
- Skamania Countybase $62.02$87.79
- Lewis Countybase $81.42$100.83
Which county is in which insulator group
Every Washington county with a insulator rate. Counties L&I treats alike share one page; the rest have their own. You pay the rate for the county where the work is done.
| Counties | Main classification | Base wage | Total rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| King County group, 20 counties: Chelan, Clallam, Douglas, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Lewis, Mason, Okanogan, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston, Whatcom, Yakima | Journey Level | $81.42 | $100.83 |
| Clark County group, 5 counties: Clark, Cowlitz, Klickitat, Skamania, Wahkiakum | Mechanic | $62.02 | $87.79 |
| Spokane County group, 14 counties: Adams, Asotin, Benton, Columbia, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, Whitman | Journey Level | $45.81 | $68.80 |
3 groups of counties with identical L&I rates, and 0 counties with rates of their own.
More from L&I on this rate
- Scope of work, WAC 296-127-01303: which tasks this trade covers. L&I says the right classification “depends upon determinations published by L&I” (L&I).
- L&I's prevailing wage lookup, for any county, trade and bid date
- Apprentices: registered apprentices are paid L&I's apprentice rate for the trade. Anyone without a registered agreement counts as a journey-level worker (RCW 39.12.021).
Every trade's rates, county by county: Clark · Cowlitz · Klickitat · Skamania · Wahkiakum
Are you being paid this rate?
Add your wage to what your employer pays into health, pension and other plans for you, and compare it with $87.79. Each contractor files an L&I-approved Statement of Intent to Pay Prevailing Wages before it's paid, and an Affidavit of Wages Paid when the job is accepted (RCW 39.12.040). On contracts over $10,000 the approved intent and L&I's contact details are posted on the job site (RCW 39.12.020).
Source
Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, prevailing wage lookup, Heat & Frost Insulators And Asbestos Workers (HEAF), published August 1, 2025, effective August 31, 2025: secure.lni.wa.gov/wagelookup/. L&I keeps a wage record for each county; for the row this page leads with:
- Clark County: L&I wage record 148623
- Cowlitz County: L&I wage record 148623
- Klickitat County: L&I wage record 148623
- Skamania County: L&I wage record 148623
- Wahkiakum County: L&I wage record 148623
Each figure comes from L&I's lookup and is checked against L&I's CSV export and a second, separate query. How we check · Download every Washington rate as CSV · Report an error