I don't know the laws in WA John but here is how it works in AL.
Say I do a $25,000 job on a small office/warehouse building for the owner and she doesn't pay. The first thing I have to do is send a Notice of Intent to Lien. This is basically an arbitration scenario required by the State that usually works in getting paid. I've had to send 2 in the last two years. Big Corp Retail will make a general contractors head roll when a NIL is delivered to their home office - speaking from experience.
Now in my example, say the owner I did the work for throws the NIL in the trash and doesn't respond. After the waiting period I have my lawyer file the lien and then immediately file a lawsuit to perfect the lien, filing a Lis Pendens in conjunction. The Lis Pendens locks the property down from being sold, transferred, etc. In addition no bank will loan money as the title is not clear until the Lis Pendens is removed. It's a very power tool in getting paid not many know about. This would cost me around $1,000 to $1500 at this point. I've never had to go this far yet and I hope I never have to.